eMedicine Specialties > Emergency Medicine > Toxicology
Toxicity, Arsenic: Follow-up
Updated: Apr 21, 2009
Follow-up
Further Inpatient Care
- Many patients will develop profound peripheral motor palsies requiring extensive rehabilitation. Rehabilitation should be started as promptly as the clinical picture allows.
Further Outpatient Care
- Perform a careful neurological evaluation in follow-up of all patients because the peripheral neuropathy, which may develop after an acute exposure, may not appear for 2-3 weeks.
Complications
- Sterile abscesses after the use of dimercaprol (BAL in Oil) are not unusual. They initially may appear like erythematous macules, which spread or coalesce and may continue to drain for some time.
Patient Education
- For excellent patient education resources, visit eMedicine's Bioterrorism and Warfare Center. Also, see eMedicine's patient education article Chemical Warfare.
Miscellaneous
Medicolegal Pitfalls
- Failure to immediately report all suspicious cases to an appropriate law enforcement agency (If someone presents with arsenic toxicity and the cause is not obvious, a malicious etiology may be involved.)
Special Concerns
- Checking the patient's family members for exposure is important because a good chance exists that they may also have been exposed to arsenic toxicity.
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Follow-up: Toxicity, Arsenic |
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References
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Muckter H, Liebl B, Reichl FX, et al. Are we ready to replace dimercaprol (BAL) as an arsenic antidote?. Hum Exp Toxicol. Aug 1997;16(8):460-5. [Medline].
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Stenehjem AE, Vahter M, Nermell B, Aasen J, Lierhagen S, Morland J. Slow recovery from severe inorganic arsenic poisoning despite treatment with DMSA (2.3-dimercaptosuccinic acid). Clin Toxicol (Phila). May 2007;45(4):424-8. [Medline].
Further Reading
Keywords
arsenic toxicity, arsenic poisoning, element 33, poison, As, arsenic exposure, trivalent arsenic, pentavalent inorganic arsenic, arsine, arsine exposure, arsenic gas, arsenic trioxide, heavy metal exposure, heavy metal toxicity
Follow-up: Toxicity, Arsenic