Acute mercuric chloride poisoning: Effect of co-ingested milk on outcome and continued hyperamylasemia

Thirty-six h after intentionally ingesting 25 g of mercuric chloride powder mixed with 50 mL of milk, an elderly woman presented to the emergency depa rtment with diffuse upper gastrointestinal erosions and acute renal failure . The patient was treated with dimercaprol and hemodialysis, and was discha rged from the hospital without clinical apparent sequelae. However, elevate d serum concentrations of amylase and proteases persisted for several month s despite normal findings by computed tomography including contrast adminis tration. Delayed absorption and weakened corrosive effect may have resulted from the binding of mercuric chloride to thiol-containing proteins in milk , improving the clinical outcome.