Acute mercuric chloride poisoning: effect of co-ingested milk on outcome and continued hyperamylasemia

Thirty-six h after intentionally ingesting 25 g of mercuric chloride powder mixed with 5O mL of milk, an elderly woman presented to the emergency department with diffuse upper gastrointestinal erosions and acute renal failure. The patient was treated with dimercaprol and hemodialysis, and was discharged from the hospital without clinically apparent sequelae. However, elevated serum concentrations of amylase and proteases persisted for several months despite normal findings by computed tomography including contrast administration. Delayed absorption and weakened corrosive effect may have resulted from the binding of mercuric chloride to thiol-containing proteins in milk, improving the clinical outcome.