Nickel excretion in urine after oral administration

In recent years the importance of internal exposure to nickel in patients with recurrent hand eczema and nickel allergy has become evident. The present study was performed in order to investigate the value of urinary nickel determinations as an index of oral nickel intake. After oral administration of 5.6 mg nickel (as the sulfate), increased nickel excretion was found over the following 2-3 days. We conclude that consecutive urinary nickel determinations are able to disclose variations in oral intake of nickel.