Long‐term misdiagnosis and neurologic outcomes of thallium poisoning: A case report and literature review
Abstract Introduction Thallium poisoning is a rare occurrence. Therefore, thallium poisoning is easily misdiagnosed and is often accompanied by a series of serious sequelae and can even result in death in severe cases. Here, we report long‐term follow‐up of a case of a patient who was poisoned with...
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Wiley
2021-03-01
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Series: | Brain and Behavior |
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.2032 |
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author | Hailing Liu Geng Liao |
author_facet | Hailing Liu Geng Liao |
author_sort | Hailing Liu |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Abstract Introduction Thallium poisoning is a rare occurrence. Therefore, thallium poisoning is easily misdiagnosed and is often accompanied by a series of serious sequelae and can even result in death in severe cases. Here, we report long‐term follow‐up of a case of a patient who was poisoned with thallium on two separate occasions. Methods A 43‐year‐old man was initially misdiagnosed as gastroenteritis, diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and Guillain–Barré Syndrome (GBS) within 21 months. The correct diagnosis was confirmed by blood and urine thallium assays. After Prussian blue treatment, thallium was undetectable in the blood by day 60. Following this investigation, a criminal suspect confessed to two instances of adulterating thallium sulfate in the patient's beverage. A 6‐year follow‐up was performed after discharge, and a comprehensive literature was review. Results We found that the original gastrointestinal symptoms, skin lesions, and hair loss were reversed and had recovered, except for residual neurologic damage, even with long‐term rehabilitation. Discussion Thallium intoxication may have been initially identified if neurologic symptoms had occurred concurrently with gastrointestinal and cutaneous symptoms. Neurologic damage represented the main sequelae of thallium poisoning in our present case report. |
first_indexed | 2024-12-19T09:11:13Z |
format | Article |
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institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2162-3279 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-12-19T09:11:13Z |
publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
publisher | Wiley |
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series | Brain and Behavior |
spelling | doaj.art-2246eaaf046844b68d2086c69e2d689c2022-12-21T20:28:11ZengWileyBrain and Behavior2162-32792021-03-01113n/an/a10.1002/brb3.2032Long‐term misdiagnosis and neurologic outcomes of thallium poisoning: A case report and literature reviewHailing Liu0Geng Liao1Department of Neurology Maoming People's Hospital Maoming ChinaDepartment of Neurology Maoming People's Hospital Maoming ChinaAbstract Introduction Thallium poisoning is a rare occurrence. Therefore, thallium poisoning is easily misdiagnosed and is often accompanied by a series of serious sequelae and can even result in death in severe cases. Here, we report long‐term follow‐up of a case of a patient who was poisoned with thallium on two separate occasions. Methods A 43‐year‐old man was initially misdiagnosed as gastroenteritis, diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and Guillain–Barré Syndrome (GBS) within 21 months. The correct diagnosis was confirmed by blood and urine thallium assays. After Prussian blue treatment, thallium was undetectable in the blood by day 60. Following this investigation, a criminal suspect confessed to two instances of adulterating thallium sulfate in the patient's beverage. A 6‐year follow‐up was performed after discharge, and a comprehensive literature was review. Results We found that the original gastrointestinal symptoms, skin lesions, and hair loss were reversed and had recovered, except for residual neurologic damage, even with long‐term rehabilitation. Discussion Thallium intoxication may have been initially identified if neurologic symptoms had occurred concurrently with gastrointestinal and cutaneous symptoms. Neurologic damage represented the main sequelae of thallium poisoning in our present case report.https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.2032long‐term follow‐upneuroelectrophysiology: toxicityneurologic outcomethallium poisoning |
spellingShingle | Hailing Liu Geng Liao Long‐term misdiagnosis and neurologic outcomes of thallium poisoning: A case report and literature review Brain and Behavior long‐term follow‐up neuroelectrophysiology: toxicity neurologic outcome thallium poisoning |
title | Long‐term misdiagnosis and neurologic outcomes of thallium poisoning: A case report and literature review |
title_full | Long‐term misdiagnosis and neurologic outcomes of thallium poisoning: A case report and literature review |
title_fullStr | Long‐term misdiagnosis and neurologic outcomes of thallium poisoning: A case report and literature review |
title_full_unstemmed | Long‐term misdiagnosis and neurologic outcomes of thallium poisoning: A case report and literature review |
title_short | Long‐term misdiagnosis and neurologic outcomes of thallium poisoning: A case report and literature review |
title_sort | long term misdiagnosis and neurologic outcomes of thallium poisoning a case report and literature review |
topic | long‐term follow‐up neuroelectrophysiology: toxicity neurologic outcome thallium poisoning |
url | https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.2032 |
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