Cobalt toxicity after total hip replacement: a neglected adverse effect?

摘要

Ikeda and collegues reported on a 56-year-old woman with neurologic disturbances (bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and axonal polyneuropathy) caused by high blood cobalt and chromium concentrations caused by metal released from her revised right hip prosthesis. This followed other reports showing similar serious side effects after hip replacement.Although endogenous cobalt exposure has been consistently documented in clinical series, mainly associated with metal prostheses leading to wear and release of debris and metal ions, neurotoxicity has been described only recently.