RT Journal
A1 Moody RP
T1 THe safety of diethyltoluamide insect repellents
JF JAMA
JO JAMA
YR 1989
FD July 7
VO 262
IS 1
SP 28
OP 29
DO 10.1001/jama.1989.03430010040013
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.1989.03430010040013
AB To the Editor. — 
    I am writing in reference to the letter to the editor by Davies et al and the reply by Tenenbein1 in the April 15, 1988, issue of JAMA concerning the safety of N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET)—based insect repellents. The criticism expressed by Davies et al that a previous article by Tenenbein2 was incorrect in extrapolating DEET toxicity data from ingestion studies to topical applications was questioned. Tenenbein1 pointed out inconsistencies between the data of Davies et al and those of a study by Wu et al.3 We recently reported4 that DE ET is absorbed rapidly after topical applications in rats, monkeys, and man and that anatomic site—related differences were observed in the monkey, with 68% ± 9% being absorbed from the ventral forepaw. This observation should cause concern since the monkey ventral forepaw corresponds with the human palmar surface,4