Intravenous injection of metallic mercury: case report and course of mercury during chelation therapy with DMPS.

Birgit Vallant, Josef Deutsch, Michael Muntean, Walter Goessler

Karl-Franzens University Graz, Institute of Chemistry-Analytical Chemistry, Graz, Austria.

Clinical toxicology (Philadelphia, Pa.) 2008 Jul

filter terms:

Although several cases of i.v. injection of metallic mercury have been reported, it still remains an uncommon event. A 34-year-old male came to hospital because complaining of pleuritic chest pain. X-ray showed radio dense punctate lesions in both lung fields, as well as around both elbows. Mercury concentration in blood (140 microg/L) and urine (320 microg/L) from the patient were significantly elevated, compared with the reference concentrations of < or = 2.0 mug/L mercury in blood and urine. The course of renal elimination of mercury and the mercury concentration in whole blood during 5 months of chelation therapy with sodium 2,3-dimercapto-1-propanesulfonate (Dimaval) were monitored. Furthermore, the time-course of mercury in scalp hair from the patient was determined. We report a case of probable consecutive i.v. administration of metallic mercury.

Citation

Birgit Vallant, Josef Deutsch, Michael Muntean, Walter Goessler. Intravenous injection of metallic mercury: case report and course of mercury during chelation therapy with DMPS. Clinical toxicology (Philadelphia, Pa.). 2008 Jul;46(6):566-9