Acute Arsine Poisoning Confirmed by Speciation Analysis of Arsenic Compounds in the Plasma and Urine by HPLC‐ICP‐MS

Abstract

Acute Arsine Poisoning Confirmed by Speciation Analysis of Arsenic Compounds in the Plasma and Urine by HPLC-ICP-MS: YukihiroYoshimura, et al. Department of Infectious Disease, Yokohama Municipal Citizen's Hospital-Objectives: Arsine, a potent hemolytic agent, is widely used in the semiconductor industry. We report a case of arsine poisoning confirmed by arsenic speciation analysis in serum and urine that occurred in a recycling factory. Case: A male worker in his twenties noticed hematuria 3 h after finishing work and was admitted into our hospital 34 h later. Speciation analysis of arsenics in serum and urine samples was performed using HPLC-ICP-MS. On admission, anemia, hematuria, and renal and liver dysfunction were observed. His clinical condition had improved remarkably after 5-days of transfusion and 4 units of RBC transfusion. The total arsenic content in the serum was 244.8 µg/l at admission and 97.1 µg/l at discharge. In the speciation analysis, four kinds of As compounds derived from arsine metabolism were detected in serum and urine. The concentrations of arsenite (AsIII), arsenate (AsV), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) in serum at admission were 45.8, 5.2, 17.9 and 9.3 µg/l, respectively. The concentrations of AsIII, AsV and MMA decreased with biological half-lives (BHL) of 30.1, 43.0, and 96.3 h, respectively, while that of DMA was increased towards discharge. The urinary AsIII, AsV, MMA, and DMA concentrations at discharge were 384.5, 20.8, 547.4 and 1816.3 µg/g creatinine, respectively. These concentrations in urine subsequently decreased and their BHL was 15 days. Conclusion:The results of the present study suggest that arsine is quickly metabolized to AsIII and then metabolized via MMA to DMA in humans. (J Occup Health 2011; 53: 45-49)

Metabolomic Characterizations of Liver Injury Caused by Acute Arsenic Toxicity in Zebrafish

“…In a study on a population of west Bengal of India exposure to different levels of arsenic, serum bilirubin was elevated in total exposed individuals but no significance was detected in dose-response tests [ 56 ]. ALT activity in plasma were frequently elevated after arsenic exposure in human [ 56 , 57 ] or animal models [ 58 , 59 ]; however, such changes are usually significant only under very high concentrations [ 57 , 60 ] or prolonged exposure of weeks to months[ 61 – 63 ]. Thus, the arsenate exposure in this study was probably not sufficient to induce severe liver damages.…”

Arsine toxicity is induced by inhalation but not by percutaneous exposure in hairless mice

“…Furthermore, human metabolites in urine and blood after inhalation of arsine (Apostoli et al, 1997, Yoshimura et al, 2011 are the same as the metabolites found in inorganic arsenic exposure. Thus, the effects of inorganic arsenic toxicity should be considered in chronic arsine exposure.…”

Atomic spectrometry update. Clinical and biological materials, foods and beverages

“…Finally, it is now very uncommon for this review to report on cases of acute occupational metal intoxication. Yoshimura et al 132 confirmed a case of acute arsine poisoning in a worker from a semiconductor recycling plant. Urine and serum As species were determined using HPLC-ICP-MS. On admission, serum total As was 244.8 mg L À1 , which declined over the five days of hospitalisation to 97.1 mg L À1 .…”