Citation

See KA, Lavercombe PS, Dillon J, Ginsberg R. Med. J. Aust. 2006; 185(7): 388-389.

Affiliation

St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia. (see_ka@hotmail.com)

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Australian Medical Association, Publisher Australasian Medical Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

17014408

Abstract

We report a fatal case of acute selenium poisoning in a 75-year-old man. After reading on the Internet about a possible role of selenium in prostate cancer, the patient ingested 10 g of sodium selenite. Despite intensive care treatment, he suffered a cardiac arrest and died 6 hours after ingestion. This case illustrates the risks of failing to critically evaluate Internet information and exposes the myth that natural therapies are inherently safe.

Language: en