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Case Reports
. 2022 Jun 22;2022(6):rjac281.
doi: 10.1093/jscr/rjac281. eCollection 2022 Jun.

Two cases of lead poisoning associated with occupational exposure presented as intestinal obstruction: a case report

Paran Tanwar  1 , Pradeep Goyal  1 , Sourabh Trivedi  1 , Jahnavi Kolli  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Two cases of lead poisoning associated with occupational exposure presented as intestinal obstruction: a case report

Paran Tanwar et al. J Surg Case Rep. .

Abstract

Lead exposure in India is common in industries that may present with nonspecific signs and symptoms or symptoms of toxicity, depending on the amount of lead absorbed. We are presenting two case reports of occupational lead exposure in a lead-based battery manufacturing unit, which were presented as intestinal obstruction. Both the patients aged 28 and 24-year old presented with complaints of pain in the abdomen with blood lead levels of 61.1 and 85 μg/dl, respectively. The diagnosis was made clinically before any other radiological investigation or intervention. Both the patients were treated conservatively with D-Penicillamine, following which, both the patients improved symptomatically and the blood lead level also decreased. The importance of a detailed history of occupation & clinically diagnosing such patient will avoid unnecessary investigation and intervention. This will help to reach the correct diagnosis in such cases.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) and (B) Showing radiograph abdomen before the treatment. (C) Showing radiograph abdomen after the treatment. (D) Case 1—a 28-year-old male who worked as an engineer at lead battery manufacturing factory at Nalagarh (Himachal Pradesh) for last 6 months.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) Showing radiograph abdomen before the treatment. (B) Showing radiograph abdomen after the treatment. (C) Case 2—a 24-year-old male who worked as a laborer in a lead battery manufacturing factory in Nalagarh (Himachal Pradesh) for 5 years.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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