Elemental mercury intoxication in 7 patients admitted to a pediatric rheumatology clinic

Abstract

Mercury (Hg) is a toxic heavy metal that can be classified into threegroups; organic (methyl), inorganic (mercuric), and elemental (metallic)mercury(Hg0). Mercury intoxication occurs mostly with the elemental formwhich can potentially damage the function of any organ, or any subcellularstructure. The target organ of mercury is the brain, but peripheral nervefunction, renal function, immune function, endocrine and muscle function,and several types of dermatitis have been described. We present 7 patientsadmitted to a pediatric rheumatology clinic with severe extremity pain. Oneof the patients had acrodynia, two of them had hypertension, two of themhad tubulopathy, and three of them had neuropathy. The treatments wereDimercaptosuccinic acid and metalcaptase. In this report, we emphasize thatmercury intoxication should be kept in mind with unexplained extremity pain.Timely diagnosis and treatment may prevent severe morbidity and mortality