Acute potassium dichromate poisoning: a toxicokinetic case study

A 48-year-old man drank 150 mL of an aqueous solution containing potassium dichromate 22.5 g in a suicidal attempt and was admitted 7 hours after the ingestion. Hemodialysis was promptly undertaken and chromium concentrations in serum, erythrocytes, and dialysate were determined during the treatment. Chromium elimination in urine was monitored during hemodialysis and the subsequent 400 hours. The total chromium eliminated via hemodialysis and urine was calculated as 36.7 mg or 0.16% of the ingested dose. Spontaneous urinary elimination proceeded according to an open one-compartment model. The elimination half-life was 71.37 hours +/- 17.13 hours (95% CI). Chromium elimination from serum followed an open two-compartment model, with the half-lives of 3.16 hours +/- 2.63 hours for phase 1 and 50 hours +/- 27 hours (95% CI) for phase 2. Calcium-EDTA therapy had no influence on erythrocyte, serum, or urine chromium level. It contributed, however, to a significant increase in chromium elimination rate in the dialysate. Serum zinc was very low at admission and serum zinc, copper, and magnesium were controlled during the initial 30 hours.