Abstract
After ingestion of an unknown amount of a gun blueing compound containing selenious acid (11 ml from the bottle fluid were missing, equivalent to 2.9 g Se) a 2-year-old girl suffered from continuous hyper-salivation, vomiting, diarrhoea, restlessness and muscle spasm. Blood pressure and pulse rate were increased. Symptomatic treatment was performed by parenteral fluid administration. The plasma Se concentration was increased to 20 times normal 5 h after ingestion. Erythrocyte Se exceeded plasma Se, 24 h after intoxication. Urinary Se excretion decreased parallel to the plasma Se concentration. Ten weeks later, the Se content of hair had risen to 10 times normal. The plasma glutathione peroxidase activity showed only a slight increase during the first 36 h, erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase, catalase and superoxide dismutase activities were not significantly altered. The child fully recovered.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aebi H (1984) Catalase in vitro. Methods Enzymol 105:121–126
Baptista RJ, Bistrian BR, Blackburn GL, Miller DG, Champagne CD, buchanan L (1984) Utilizing selenious acid to reverse selenium deficiency in total parenteral nutrition patients. Am J Clin Nutr 39: 816–820
Carter RF (1966) Acute selenium poisoning. Med J Aust 26:525–528
Civil IDS, McDonald MJA (1978) Acute selenium poisoning: case report. N Z Med J 24:354–356
Flohé L, Günzler WA (1984) Assays of glutathione peroxidase. Methods Enzymol 105:114–121
Frost DV, Lish PM (1975) Selenium in biology. Annu Rev Pharmacol 15:259–284
Glover JR (1967) Selenium in human urine. Ann Occup Hyg 10:3–14
Hadjimarkos DM (1969) Selenium: a caries-enhancing trace element. Caries Res 3:14–22
Hatch RC, Clark JD, Jain AV, Mahaffey EA (1979) Treatment of induced acute selenosis in rats and weanling pigs. Am J Vet Res 40:1808–1811
Jaffé WG (1976) Effect of selenium intake in humans and in rats. Proc Se-Tel Environm, pp 188–193, Industrial Health Foundation, Pittsburgh, PA
Levander OA, Morris VC (1984) Dietary selenium levels needed to maintain balance in North America adults consuming self-selected diets. Am J Clin Nutr 39: 809–815
Lombeck I, Kasperek K, Harbisch HD, Feinendegen LE, Bremer HJ (1977) The selenium state of healthy children. I. Serum selenium concentration at different ages; activity of glutathione peroxidase of erythrocytes at different ages; selenium content of food of infants. Eur J Pediatr 125:81–88
McConnell KP, Portman OW (1952) Toxicity of dimethyl selenide in the rat and mouse. Proc Soc Exp Biol (NY) 79:230
Norppa H, Westermarck T, Laasonen M, Knuutila L, Knuutila S (1980) Chromosomal effects of sodium selenite in vivo. I. Aberrations and sister chromatid exchanges in human lymphocytes. Hereditas 93:93–96
Paglia DE, Valentine WM (1967) Studies on the quantitative and qualitative characterization of erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase: J Lab Clin Med 70:158–169
Food and Nutrition Board (1980) Recommended Dietary Allowances, 9th edn. National Academy of Science, Washington, WA
Rosenfeld I, Beath OA (1964) Selenium poisoning and animals. In: Rosenfeld I, Beath OA (eds) Selenium, geobotany, biochemistry, toxicity and nutrition. Academic Press, New York London, pp 141–226
Sivjakov KI, Braun NA (1959) The treatment of acute selenium cadmium and tungsten intoxication in rats with calcium disodium ethylene diamine tetraacetate. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 1:602–608
Sunde RA, Gutzke GE, Hoekstra WC (1981) Effect of dietary methionine on the biopotency of selenite and selenomethionine in the rat. J Nutr 111:76–86
Thomson CD, Burton CE, Robinson MF (1978) On supplementing the selenium intake of New Zealanders. 1. Short experiments with large doses of selenite or selenomethionine. Br J Nutr 39:579–587
Watkinson JH (1979) Semi-automated fluorimetric determination of nanogram quantities of selenium in biological material. Anal Chim Acta 105:319–325
Wilber CG (1980) Toxicology of selenium: a review. Clin Toxicol 17:171–230
Winterbourn CC, Hawkins RE, Brian M, Carrell RW (1975) The estimation of red cell superoxide dismutase activity. J Lab Clin Med 85:337–341
Yang G, Wang S, Zhou R, Sun S (1983) Endemic selenium intoxication of humans in China. Am J Clin Nutr 37:872–881
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lombeck, I., Menzel, H. & Frosch, D. Acute selenium poisoning of a 2-year-old child. Eur J Pediatr 146, 308–312 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00716483
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00716483