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Case Reports
. 2010 Jul;25(3):326-9.
doi: 10.1007/s12291-010-0051-9. Epub 2010 Aug 25.

Three cases of lead toxicity associated with consumption of ayurvedic medicines

A Raviraja, G N Vishal Babu, Anusha Sehgal, Robert B Saper, Innocent Jayawardene, Chitra J Amarasiriwardena, T Venkatesh
Case Reports

Three cases of lead toxicity associated with consumption of ayurvedic medicines

A Raviraja et al. Indian J Clin Biochem. 2010 Jul.

Abstract

Ayurveda is a traditional form of medicine used by majority of the Indians. Here we report three cases of lead toxicity, following intake of Ayurvedic medicines. Three patients presented with blood lead levels (BLLs) of 122.4, 115 and 42.8 μg/dl respectively at the time of hospitalization. The first case was chelated with D- penicillamine, the second with calcium disodium ethylene diamino tetra acetate (EDTA) and the third with environmental intervention and education. Associated Ayurvedic products were collected from patients and analyzed for metallic concentration. Cessation of Ayurvedic medication along with chelation, nutritional intervention and education, reduced the BLL to 27.4 μg/dl in the first case after 1 year, 21.1 μg/dl after 9 months in the second and 18.2 μg/dl after 6 months in the third case.

Keywords: Abdominal pain; Ayurvedic medicine; Blood lead level; Chelation; Lead toxicity.

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