Ice hockey lung - a case of mass nitrogen dioxide poisoning in the Czech Republic.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) is a toxic gas, a product of combustion in malfunctioning ice-resurfacing machines. NO₂ poisoning is rare but potentially lethal. The authors report a case of mass NO₂ poisoning involving 15 amateur ice hockey players in the Czech Republic. All players were treated in the Department of Respiratory Diseases at Brno University Hospital in November 2010 - three as inpatients because they developed pneumonitis. All patients were followed-up until November 2011. Complete recovery in all but one patient was achieved by December 2010. None of the 15 patients developed asthma-like disease or chronic cough. Corticosteroids appeared to be useful in treatment. Electric-powered ice-resurfacing machines are preferable in indoor ice skating arenas.