Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 8, 2025
Handheld Metal Detector Screening for Metallic Foreign Body Ingestion in Children
Published on: September 11, 2018
Accidental iron poisoning in children - Experience from a teaching institution
Jolly Chandran1, R Sanketh1, Siva Vyasam1
1Department of PICU, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
Insights
Accidental iron poisoning in children is a serious risk, often fatal due to maternal iron tablet overdose. Safe storage and parental counseling are crucial to prevent severe outcomes and child mortality.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Toxicology
- Clinical Pediatrics
- Public Health
Background:
- Acute iron toxicity is a life-threatening condition in children resulting from accidental overdose of maternal iron tablets.
- Limited literature exists on the specific profile and outcomes of iron poisoning in pediatric populations.
- This study addresses the scarcity of data by presenting a case series of children with accidental iron ingestion.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the clinical profile and outcomes of children experiencing accidental iron poisoning.
- To identify risk factors associated with mortality in pediatric iron toxicity cases.
- To emphasize the importance of preventative measures and parental education regarding iron supplement safety.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective study was conducted in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) in South India from January 2009 to December 2019.
- Inclusion criteria comprised all children presenting with accidental iron poisoning.
- Data analysis focused on clinical presentation, management, and patient outcomes.
Main Results:
- Five children presented with accidental iron tablet ingestion; the mean age was 25.8 months.
- Two children developed fulminant hepatic failure and succumbed to the illness, despite supportive care including plasmapheresis in one case.
- While most children (3/5) were discharged alive after treatment with gastric lavage, desferrioxamine, and whole bowel irrigation, mortality was linked to coagulopathy, acute liver failure, and delayed presentation.
Conclusions:
- Accidental iron poisoning in children is a significant public health concern with a high mortality rate.
- Effective management involves prompt medical intervention, including gastric lavage, desferrioxamine, and potentially plasmapheresis.
- Primary care physicians must counsel parents on the safe storage of iron tablets to prevent accidental ingestion and reduce child mortality.
Background:
Acute iron toxicity is fatal in children resulting from an accidental overdose of maternal iron tablets at home. There is scanty literature on children looking at the profile and outcome. We report a case series of five children presenting after accidental ingestion of iron tablets. Two presented with fulminant hepatic failure at 48 h, and despite supportive management and plasmapheresis in one child, both succumbed to illness.
Materials And Methods:
This retrospective study was conducted in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of a teaching institution in South India between January 2009 and December 2019. All children with accidental iron poisoning were included in the analysis.
Results:
During the study period, five children presented to our PICU after accidental iron tablet ingestion. The mean age was 25.8 months [standard deviation (SD): 13.9]. All the children had consumed iron tablets from their pregnant mothers. Two children presenting with liver failure succumbed to illness. Treatment included a standard protocol of gastric lavage and desferrioxamine. Most of them (3/5) received whole bowel irrigation. We did plasmapheresis in one child who presented with fulminant hepatic failure. The majority were discharged alive (3/5). The presence of coagulopathy, acute liver failure, and delayed presentation were associated with high mortality.
Conclusion:
Accidental iron poisoning is prevalent in children and associated with significant mortality. Parents and caretakers must be counseled by primary care physicians and made aware of the safe storage of iron tablets.
More Related Videos
04:48Setup of Capillary Electrophoresis-Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry CE-ICP-MS for Quantification of Iron Redox Species FeII, FeIII
Published on: May 4, 2020
09:23Removal of Trace Elements by Cupric Oxide Nanoparticles from Uranium In Situ Recovery Bleed Water and Its Effect on Cell Viability
Published on: June 21, 2015
Related Concept Videos
01:26Anticholinesterase Agents: Poisoning and Treatment
Irreversible agents form a strong bond with the cholinesterase enzyme, making it inactive. The breakdown of the phosphorylated enzyme is...
00:57The Periodic Table and Organismal Elements
01:36Types of Toxins
Air pollutants, primarily gases, pose significant threats to respiratory health, leading to conditions like hypoxia, lung cancer, and in extreme cases, death.
Environmental pollutants like...
01:14Prevention of Further Absorption of Poison
02:49Corrosion
01:26Toxic Reactions: Overview
Toxicity falls into two primary categories: local and systemic.
Local toxicity appears at the exposure site, such as protein denaturation caused by caustic substances.
In contrast, systemic toxicity requires the toxic agent's absorption and distribution,...