Citation

Yumoto T, Tsukahara K, Naito H, Iida A, Nakao A. J. Clin. Diagn. Res. 2017; 11(4): OD01-OD02.

Affiliation

Faculty, Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Okayama University Hospital, Okayama, Japan.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, JCDR Prepublishing)

DOI

10.7860/JCDR/2017/24286.9494

PMID

28571191

PMCID

PMC5449837

Abstract

Thallium was once commonly used as a household rodent or ant killer, but many countries have banned such use due to unintentional or criminal poisonings of humans. A common initial clinical manifestation of thallium poisoning is gastrointestinal symptoms followed by delayed onset of neurological symptoms and alopecia. These clinical characteristics can provide important diagnostic clues regarding thallium poisoning. Here, we report a 23-year-old woman who was poisoned by a business colleague when she unknowingly drank tea containing the toxic substance several times. The patient was treated with multi-dose activated charcoal with airway protection and Prussian blue.

Language: en

Keywords

Alopecia; Haemodialysis; Neuropathy; Prussian blue