Citation

De Palma G, Mariotti O, Lonati D, Goldoni M, Catalani S, Mutti A, Locatelli C, Apostoli P. Clin. Toxicol. (Phila) 2008; 46(9): 869-876.

Affiliation

Department of Experimental and Applied Medicine, Section of Industrial Hygiene, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy. depalma@med.unibs.it

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/15563650802136241

PMID

18787993

Abstract

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.

Language: en