Güngör Olcay, Özkaya Ahmet Kağan, Kirik Serkan, Dalkiran Tahir, Güngör Gülay, Işikay Sedat, Davutoğlu Mehmet, Dilber Cengiz
From the Department of Pediatric Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University, Kahramanmaras.
Department of Pediatric Emergency, Faculty of Medicine, Cukurova University, Adana.
Pediatr Emerg Care. 2019 Oct;35(10):696-699. doi: 10.1097/PEC.0000000000001011.
Elemental mercury is a toxic liquid element that is used widely in the home, medicine, agriculture, and industry. It is readily vaporized and inhaled at room temperature. Thereby, inhalation can cause acute or chronic poisoning. Mercury can be found in environmental naturally find but some dangers sources give rise to contaminations. It can be very dangerous to all living organisms, especially children.
This study presents the features of mercury poisoning in a group of pediatric cases. Data were obtained for 29 pediatric cases exposed to elemental mercury in a high school chemistry laboratory in Turkey. Patients with a blood mercury level exceeding 10 μg/L or a urine mercury level exceeding 15 μg/L were considered to have mercury poisoning. The patients were treated with 2,3-dimercaptopropane sulfonic acid or D-penicillamine.
Twenty-nine children with mercury poisoning were admitted to the hospital. The median duration of exposure was 58 (range, 15-120) minutes. Ten (29%) children were asymptomatic. Physical and neurological examinations were normal in 19 (65.5%) children. The most common presenting complaint was headache. The most common neurological abnormality, partly dilated/dilated pupils, was present in 9 (31%) children. Mercury levels were measured in blood samples every 5 days, and the median blood mercury level was 51.98 (range, 24.9-86.4) μg/L. There was a positive correlation between the duration of exposure and maximum blood/urine mercury levels (P = 0.001).
Elemental mercury exposure is potentially toxic; its symptomatology varies, especially in children. Secure storage of mercury and other toxic substances and provision of information about this subject to individuals who might be exposed to mercury and their families might help to prevent mercury poisoning.
元素汞是一种有毒的液态元素，在家庭、医药、农业和工业中广泛使用。它在室温下很容易蒸发并被吸入。因此，吸入可导致急性或慢性中毒。汞在环境中自然存在，但一些危险来源会导致污染。它对所有生物都非常危险，尤其是儿童。
本研究呈现了一组儿科病例中汞中毒的特征。获取了土耳其一所高中化学实验室中29例接触元素汞的儿科病例的数据。血液汞水平超过10μg/L或尿液汞水平超过15μg/L的患者被认为患有汞中毒。这些患者接受了2,3-二巯基丙磺酸钠或D-青霉胺治疗。
29名汞中毒儿童入院。接触的中位持续时间为58（范围15 - 120）分钟。10名（29%）儿童无症状。19名（65.5%）儿童的体格和神经检查正常。最常见的主诉是头痛。9名（31%）儿童出现最常见的神经异常，即瞳孔部分散大/散大。每5天对血液样本进行汞水平测量，血液汞水平的中位数为51.98（范围24.9 - 86.4）μg/L。接触持续时间与最高血液/尿液汞水平之间存在正相关（P = 0.001）。
元素汞暴露具有潜在毒性；其症状表现各异，尤其是在儿童中。安全储存汞和其他有毒物质，并向可能接触汞的个人及其家庭提供有关该主题的信息，可能有助于预防汞中毒。
