No Camphor Toxicity in Cambodian Infants

Overview

Journal Glob Pediatr Health

Specialty Pediatrics

Date 2017 May 12

PMID 28491925

Authors

Casey R Johnson

Samuel G Porter

Debra Coats

Kyly C Whitfield

Khin Mengkheang

Mark D Topazian

Philip R Fischer

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Thiamine deficiency and beriberi are prevalent in Cambodia, although most infants with nonspecific clinical symptoms of beriberi, including tachypnea, lack echocardiographic evidence diagnostic of the disease. Camphor activates transient receptor potential vanilloid 3 (TRPV3), a nonselective ion channel expressed in the medial preoptic nucleus of the hypothalamus and thought to be important for thermo-sensitivity. Because camphorated ointments are used commonly among Cambodian infants, we hypothesized that topical camphor modulates thermoregulatory behaviors, causing beriberi-simulating tachypnea, separate from any influence of thiamine deficiency. We assessed 9 tachypneic and 10 healthy infants for Tiger Balm use and for presence of camphor in whole blood. However, no camphor was found in blood from any infants, indicating that camphor is unrelated to tachypneic illness in Cambodian infants.

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