Acute Arsenic Overdose

Arsenic is commonly used in herbicides, insecticides, and rodenticides, as well as in the manufacturing of glass, wood preservatives, and paint.1 The ubiquity of this element in the environment has resulted in frequent overdoses. Among the causes of arsenic poisoning, the most common are unintentional ingestion by children and suicide attempts by adults.2 Acute overdose of arsenic can cause gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms. In severe cases, renal failure, cardiac failure, and circulatory collapse may ensue. We report a case of acute arsenic poisoning in a patient who ingested approximately 1.2 g of arsenic during a suicide attempt. Despite the extremely high urinary arsenic concentration, 10,000 μg/L (<100 μg/L in healthy individuals), the patient survived after treatment with dimercaprol (BAL). Decreases in the hemoglobin and hematocrit values were the only sequelae possibly associated with the arsenic overload.