Observational studyBMJ open2023
Tear gas exposure and its association with respiratory emergencies in infants and older adults during the social uprising of 2019 in Chile: an observational, longitudinal, repeated measures study.
Observational study in BMJ open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.
- Emergency department medical care during civil unrest: a narrative review.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2026Review
- Collateral damage: Cardiovascular and respiratory implications of tear gas deployment during peaceful protest.Toxicology reports · 2025Article
- A Newborn Case of Esophagus and Vocal Cord Burn After CS (O-Chlorobenzylindene Malononitrile) Gas Inhalation.Sisli Etfal Hastanesi tip bulteni · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo evaluate if extensive use of tear gas during the Chilean social uprising of 2019 was associated with a higher frequency of respiratory emergencies and bronchial diseases in a residential vulnerable population.
designObservational, longitudinal, repeated measures study. SETTINGS: Six healthcare centres (one emergency department and five urgent care centres) in the city of Concepción, Chile during 2018 and 2019.
participantsThis study was conducted on daily respiratory emergencies and diagnosis. Daily frequency of urgency and emergency visits are administrative data, publicly available and previously de-identified. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Absolute and relative frequency of daily respiratory emergencies in infants and older adults. A secondary outcome was the relative frequency of bronchial diseases (International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision, ICD-10: J20-J21; J40-J46) in both age groups. We finally measured the rate ratio (RR) of bronchial diseases above the daily grand mean, since the number of visits with these diagnoses in several days was zero. Tear gas exposure was assessed as the uprising period. Models were adjusted by weather and air pollution information.
resultsPercentage of respiratory emergencies during the uprising rose by 1.34 percentage points (95% CI 1.26 to 1.43) in infants and 1.44 percentage points (95% CI 1.34 to 1.55) in older adults. In infants, the emergency department experienced a larger increment in respiratory emergencies (6.89 percentage points; 95% CI 1.58 to 2.28) than the urgent care centres (1.67 percentage points; 95% CI 1.46 to 1.90). The RR of bronchial diseases above the daily grand mean during the uprising period was 1.34 in infants (95% CI 1.15 to 1.56) and 1.50 in older adults (95% CI 1.28 to 1.75).
conclusionsThe massive use of tear gas increases the frequency and probability of respiratory emergencies and particularly bronchial diseases in the vulnerable population; we recommend revising public policy to restrict its use.
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