Abstract

LASTRAS GONZALEZ, Susana; SANCHEZ-ARCILLA, Ignacio; FERNANDEZ ESCRIBANO, Marina  and  MUEDRA SANCHEZ, Magdalena. Bursitis due to Mercury after a work accident: a case report. Med. segur. trab. [online]. 2010, vol.56, n.219, pp.158-164. ISSN 1989-7790.

A 28-year-old woman, nursing assistant, who attends to emergency service, referring pain and difficulty mobilizing right knee after a work accident two days ago. She relates that slipped while carrying 32 mercury thermometers, breaking them on her knee, creating a small wound, being the gateway to the metal. In the radiograph, we objective a metallic foreign body, corresponding to mercury, in patellar bursa. After the diagnosis, the bursa was extracted, and the worker recovered completely, after surgery. With this case report we bring, we want to know the health effects of mercury in people exposed to this metal, studying the errors occurred in this accident, assessing measures of preventive action that would have been neccesary to preclude recurrence of this type accidents and, finally, think about the risk-benefit balance the use of mercury in measuring devices in healthcare.

Keywords : work accident; patellar bursitis; mercury.

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