Hemorrhagic colitis secondary to acute elemental mercury vapor poisoning.

摘要

Mercury toxicity has been reported secondary to mercury exposure in its different forms (inorganic, organic, or elemental). Elemental mercury vapor toxicity has been reportedin multiple case series to have devastating and often deadly consequences to the pulmonary, renal, hepatic, and neurological systems (1-3). We report an unusual case of acute elemental mercury vapor toxicity with discrete gastrointestinal symptoms.We report a 46-year-old man who attempted to purify gold from a mercury-containing ore in his home. In this case, the patient's pulmonary, renal, hepatic, and neurological systems were grossly unaffected. The patient presented to the emergency room with a 5-day history of subjective fevers, sharp abdominal pain, and diarrhea consisting of 8-10 bloody stools per day. Vital signs were normal other than tachycardia (125 b.p.m.).