skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Efficacy comparison of scopolamine (SCP) and diazepam (DZ) against soman-induced lethality in guinea pigs

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:220284

Diazepam (DZ) and scopolamine (SCP) are known to be beneficial when each is used in combination with atropine (AT) + oxime therapy against intoxication by soman, but the efficacy of each might be expected to vary with the dosage of AT. Thus, the therapeutic efficacy of SCP (5 doses; 0 - 0.86 mg/kg) versus DZ (5 doses; 0 - 5 mg/kg), when used in conjunction with AT (3 doses; 0.5 - S mg/kg) + 2-PAM (25 mg/kg) therapy, was tested in groups of pyridostigmine pretreated guinea pigs exposed to 1.6, 2.0, 2.5 or 3.2 LD5Os of soman. Response surface methodology was employed to describe the relationship between lethality and the AT/DZ or AT/SCP dosages. Results show that within the indicated dose ranges used, the efficacy of SCP is not dependent on the presence of AT, whereas AT is needed for DZ to maintain the lowest probability of death. These findings suggest that in guinea pigs SCP could supplement AT or replace DZ as therapy against nerve agent intoxication.

Research Organization:
Army Medical Research Inst. of Chemical Defense, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD (United States)
OSTI ID:
220284
Report Number(s):
AD-A-301351/3/XAB; USAMRICD-P-92-027; TRN: 60920155
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: 1994
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English