PEDIATRIC ARSENIC INGESTION

Acute arsenic toxicity is rare, and there have been no pediatric cases of acute arsenic poisoning in the recent literature. We report a pediatric case of acute arsenic ingestion treated initially with British antilewisite (BAL) and D-penicillamine (DP), and later with dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA). A 22-month-old girl ingested 1 oz 2.27% sodium arsenate and developed immediate vomiting and diarrhea. The patient presented to a community emergency department with the following vital signs: blood pressure 96/72 mm Hg, pulse 160 beats/min, respirations 22 breaths/min. She was pale and lethargic. Gastric lavage was performed, and abdominal X-ray was normal. She continued to have gastrointestinal symptoms and received 3 mg/kg BAL. Sinus tachycardia persisted, with heart rate increasing to 200 beats/min. In 12 hours, she was asymptomatic and was started on oral DP. On day 1, 24-bour urine arsenic was 4,880 mu g/L. She remained asymptomatic and was discharged on day 6 on oral DP. She did well except for a rash that could have been a side effect of DP. On day 8, when the day 5 24-hour urine arsenic level was returned at 650 mu g/L, the patient was readmitted and started on DMSA. After 4 days on DMSA, the 24-hour urine arsenic level was 96 mu g/L. White blood cell count and renal and hepatic function remained normal. The excretion half-life was approximately 2.5 days, which is at least 2 to 3 times faster than the spontaneous excretion half-life expected in adults. Long-term follow-up was unavailable. DMSA has been shown to be more efficacious than DP in animal models of arsenic toxicity, but there is limited information on the use of DMSA in treating human arsenic poisoning. In this rare case of pediatric arsenic poisoning, DP and DMSA both resulted in a significant increase in arsenic excretion half-life. DMSA may be preferable to DP because, although both seem to he effective, DMSA has a lower side-effect profile. (C) 1995 by W.B. Saunders Company