Survival after a massive overdose of arsenic trioxide

Crit Care Resusc. 2009 Mar;11(1):42-5.

Abstract

Arsenic poisoning remains a therapeutic challenge, and outcomes are often poor. An 18-year-old man deliberately ingested termiticide containing a massive dose of arsenic trioxide. Arsenic concentration was 6.3 micromol/L in serum on ICU Day 1, and 253 micromol/L in the first 24-hour urine sample, with a urinary arsenic/creatinine ratio of 84 200 micromol/mol. He was treated with the chelating agent meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) (replaced by dimercaprol on Days 2-5) and required intensive support for multisystem organ failure, but recovered slowly. Nine weeks after the ingestion the only ongoing clinical issue was persistent but slowly improving peripheral neuropathy.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Arsenic Poisoning / diagnosis
  • Arsenic Poisoning / therapy*
  • Arsenic Trioxide
  • Arsenicals
  • Chelating Agents / therapeutic use
  • Critical Care*
  • Hemofiltration
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Oxides / poisoning*
  • Parenteral Nutrition, Total
  • Suicide, Attempted

Substances

  • Arsenicals
  • Chelating Agents
  • Oxides
  • Arsenic Trioxide