Acute arsenic ingestion

Abstract

A 21-year-old man presented in shock after ingesting 2 g of arsenic trioxide. He died within 37 hours despite intensive treatment that included intramuscular dimercaprol and hemodialysis. Hemodynamic and laboratory data are presented illustrating the multisystem toxicities of inorganic arsenic. Hemodialysis, previously described as an effective therapeutic adjunct, was shown to be ineffective in this case.