Citation

Fromm RE. Ann. Emerg. Med. 1991; 20(6): 669-671.

Affiliation

Department of Emergency Services, Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas 77030.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1991, American College of Emergency Physicians, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

2039109

Abstract

A 28-year-old man presented with lethargy, solmulence, and polyuria following near-drowning in a vessel of an offshore oil rig. Laboratory evaluation demonstrated severe hypercalcemia that responded to saline diuresis and nasogastric suctioning. Calcium salts are used frequently in the drilling and completion of oil wells, and it is presumed that this patient's hypercalcemia represented acute intoxication from swallowed and aspirated fluid. This case highlights the need to consider the potential constituents of the drowning fluid in victims of near-drowning, particularly if unexplained clinical phenomena are evident.

Language: en