Acute mercury poisoning: a case report

BACKGROUND Mercury poisoning can occur as a result of occupational hazard or suicide attempt. This article presents a 36-year-old case admitted to emergency department (ED) due to exposure to metallic mercury. CASE PRESENTATION A 36-year-old woman presented to the ED with a three-day history of abdominal pain, diarrhea and fever. One week ago her daughter had brought mercury in the liquid form from the school. She had put it on the heating stove. One day later, her 14-month old sister baby got fever and died before admission to the hospital. Her blood pressure was 134/87 mmHg; temperature, 40.2 degrees C; heart rate 105 bpm and regular; respiration, 18 bpm; O2 saturation, 96%. Nothing was remarkable on examination and routine laboratory tests. As serine or urinary mercury levels could not be tested in the city, symptomatic chelation treatment with N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) was instituted with regard to presumptive diagnosis and history. At the 7th day of admission she was discharged without any sequelae or complaint. At the discharge day blood was drawn and sent for mercury levels which turned out to be 30 microg/dL (normal range: 0-10 microg/dL). CONCLUSION Public education on poisoning and the potential hazards of mercury are of vital importance for community health.