Y. Kamijo et al., Acute mercuric chloride poisoning: Effect of co-ingested milk on outcome and continued hyperamylasemia, VET HUM TOX, 43(5), 2001, pp. 277-279
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.