Lead Poisoning Caused by Traditional Chinese Medicine: A Case Report and Literature Review

The Tohoku Journal of Experimental Medicine
Guangmin TangPing Feng

Abstract

Traditional Chinese herbal medicine is widely used for primary health care worldwide as it mostly consists of herbs or herbal extracts known to be safe. However, owing to the intentional or unintentional addition to herbs of lead-containing bases or pastes, lead poisoning from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) remains a serious issue. We report here a case of lead poisoning caused by long-term use of homemade TCM. A 66-year-old man was admitted for periumbilical pain and constipation. A detailed medication history revealed that the patient had been using homemade TCM for the past 8 months. Screening for heavy metals showed that the patient had a blood lead level of 657 μg/L and his wife, who was asymptomatic, had a blood lead level of 488 μg/L. Chemical analysis confirmed a lead concentration of more than 4,000 mg/kg in the TCM. Both individuals were advised to discontinue the medications and chelation treatment was immediately initiated for the husband. The patient's periumbilical pain was noticeably relieved after treatment, and blood lead levels returned to normal after three treatment rounds. We also review here the literature to summarize the usual reasons for taking TCM and common features of lead poisoning. Our findings...Continue Reading

References

Jan 12, 2005·American Journal of Physiology. Cell Physiology·Daniela S KempeFlorian Lang
Feb 16, 2006·Muscle & Nerve·Ruth M Thomson, Gareth J Parry
Oct 19, 2010·Clinica Chimica Acta; International Journal of Clinical Chemistry·Nikhil GuptaRamesh Garg
May 9, 2012·Clinica Chimica Acta; International Journal of Clinical Chemistry·Guo-zhen LinXiang-yi Liu
Oct 8, 2016·Gastroenterology·Kai DengYan Zhang
Jun 21, 2017·Case Reports in Emergency Medicine·Ming-Ta TsaiShih-Yu Cheng

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