Bromide intoxication

Bromide intoxication is now an uncommon disease. This report reviews the experience with this disorder at the Johns Hopkins Hospital over the last 23 years and reemphasizes the variable neuropsychiatric symptoms which these patients present. Impaired sensorium, fever, skin rash, abnormal serum chloride, and a history of proprietary drug abuse are clinical features which may suggest the presence of bromide intoxication. Treatment consisting of saline administration often augmented with mercurial, thiazide or "loop" diuretics was uniformly effective. The declining incidence of this disorder is felt to be due to the decrease in physicians' use of prescription bromides and the declining availability of proprietary bromide containing compounds.