Journal
CLINICAL TOXICOLOGY
Volume 46, Issue 9, Pages 869-876Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/15563650802136241
Keywords
Mercury; Intravenous; Poisoning; Embolism
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Introduction. Intravenous injection of mercury has seldom been reported, especially in cases of attempted suicide, and is associated with variable clinical outcomes. Case report. A young woman came to our attention after self-injecting and ingesting mercury drawn from 37 thermometers. The patient suffered lung embolization complicated by adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), toxic dermatitis, anemia, mild hepato-renal impairment, and died after 30 days. Mercury was monitored in biological fluids (blood, plasma, urine, and bronchoalveolar fluid) to study its toxicokinetics and to evaluate dose-effect relationships. Its urinary clearance significantly increased after a chelation challenge test with meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) (median values of 2.48 and 8.85 before and after the test, respectively, p 0.05). Conclusions. Mercury poisoning by intravenous injection is a clinical emergency, potentially leading to death. When injected, the element has a very slow clearance, mainly renal. Our data do not allow any conclusion about the effectiveness of chelation therapy.
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