Abstract

MARTINEZ SANCHEZ, Miguel Ángel; ROLDAN ORTEGA, Rosa  and  PARDO BLAZQUEZ, Raquel. Iron salt overdose as a suicide attempt. Rev Clin Med Fam [online]. 2009, vol.2, n.7, pp.365-367. ISSN 2386-8201.

Taking an overdose of iron may cause multi-organ failure that can lead to death. We present a case of a 21-years old patient, who went to a hospital emergency department after a suicide attempt. He said he had swallowed 2100 mg of iron salts. He complained of some non-specific gastrointestinal symptoms such as stomach-ache. The presence of radio-opaque pills was observed in an abdominal X-ray. His serum iron concentration remained high for 48 hours, requiring deferoxamine treatment. After  an observation period he was asymptomatic and is transferred to a hospital ward. We review the physhiopathology, clinical manifestation and treatment of iron poisoning.

Keywords : Overdose; Iron Salts.

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