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Fatal acute selenium toxicity.

P Pentel, D Fletcher, J Jentzen

Journal of Forensic Sciences

|April 1, 1985

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Acute selenium toxicity is rare but can be fatal. This case highlights severe symptoms and elevated selenium levels in a patient who ingested selenious acid, emphasizing the need to understand toxicity thresholds.

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Area of Science:

Toxicology
Environmental Health
Clinical Medicine

Background:

Selenium is utilized in various industrial applications and as a nutritional supplement.
Acute selenium toxicity is infrequently reported, with limited data on its correlation with blood and tissue selenium levels.

Observation:

A patient ingested selenious acid (found in gun blueing) and subsequently died.
The patient exhibited symptoms consistent with inorganic selenium toxicity, including hypotension, adult respiratory distress syndrome, and severe myopathy.
A distinct garlicky breath odor was noted.

Findings:

Serum selenium concentrations were 20 times normal four days post-ingestion.
Urinary selenium excretion was 70 times normal.
Postmortem tissue selenium concentrations were up to 40 times the normal range.

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Implications:

This case establishes a clear link between high selenium intake and severe toxicity, even in acute exposures.
Understanding the dose-response relationship is crucial for both industrial safety and clinical management of selenium exposure.
The findings underscore the potential for significant toxicity from inorganic selenium compounds.