Citation

Halil H, Tuygun N, Polat E, Karacan CD. Pediatr. Int. 2019; 61(5): 444-448.

Affiliation

University of Health Sciences, Dr. Sami Ulus Maternity and Children's Research and Training Hospital, Pediatric Emergency Service, Ankara, Turkey.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Japan Pediatric Society, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/ped.13834

PMID

30882955

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Iron intoxication can occur accidentally by curious children or intentionally by adolescents for suicidal attempts. They usually present with various symptoms including vomiting and diarrhea. Clinical studies in this field has been reported different doses of ingested elemental iron that caused serious toxicity however, none of these studies determined the cut-off value of ingested iron that started the risk of severe toxicity. We aimed to investigate the demographic features of iron intoxication in Turkish children and to determine the cut-off value of ingested elemental iron that caused serious intoxication and the need for prompt management.

METHODS: This retrospective study investigated 83 Turkish patients with accidental and intentional iron poisoning.

RESULTS: We included 83 cases of acute iron intoxication in our present study. Accidental iron consumption was more common than intentional use. Fifty-three patients ingested toxic dose of elemental iron with median (IQR) 40.0 (33.5) mg/kg. The median (IQR) serum iron concentration within the first six hours of ingestion was 150 (282) μg/dL. Twenty patients were given deferoxamine, whereas 63 patients were given supportive treatment.

CONCLUSION: The cut-off value of ingested elemental iron that caused serious toxicity and the need of deferoxamine was assumed to be 28 mg/kg. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Children; cut-off value; iron; poisoning