Acute Potassium Dichromate Poisoning: A Toxicokinetic Case Study

Abstract

A 48-year-old man drank 150 mL of an aqueous solution containing potassium dichromate 22.5 g in a suicidal attempt and was admitted 7 hours after the ingestion. Hemodialysis was promptly undertaken and chromium concentrations in serum, erythrocytes, and dialysate were determined during the treatment. Chromium elimination in urine was monitored during hemodialysis and the subsequent 400 hours. The total chromium eliminated via hemodialysis and urine was calculated as 36.7 mg or 0.16% of the ingested dose. Spontaneous urinary elimination proceeded according to an open one-compartment model. The elimination half-life was 71.37 hours +/- 17.13 hours (95% CI). Chromium elimination from serum followed an open two-compartment model, with the half-lives of 3.16 hours +/- 2.63 hours for phase 1 and 50 hours +/- 27 hours (95% CI) for phase 2. Calcium-EDTA therapy had no influence on erythrocyte, serum, or urine chromium level. It contributed, however, to a significant increase in chromium elimination rate in the dialysate. Serum zinc was very low at admission and serum zinc, copper, and magnesium were controlled during the initial 30 hours.

Ammonium dichromate poisoning: A rare cause of acute kidney injury

“…There are very few case reports of ammonium dichromate poisoning in India. [ 2 4 ] Meert et al ., report the death of a child following a 1 g ingestion of ammonium dichromate. [ 3 ] Hassan reported a case of 24-year-old female who presented with multiorgan failure after ammonium dichromate ingestion.…”

Four Cases of Chemical Burns Thought to Be Caused by Exposure to Chromic Acid Mist

“…In addition, elimination of chromium from serum has been found to be describable with an open two-compartment model, with half-lives of 3.16 ± 2.63 h for phase 1 and 50 ± 27 h for phase 2 6) . The normal range of chromium concentration in serum of nonexposed individuals has been reported to be below 0.025 µg/dl 7) and 0.0061-0.0654 µg/dl 8) .…”

The Role of Chelation in the Treatment of Other Metal Poisonings

“…EDTA yielded essentially uninterpretable increases in urinary elimination over 48 hours in one study that was significantly methodologically compromised [104]. Two other reports utilizing EDTA failed to show any benefit in increasing urinary elimination [105,106]. A DMPS challenge failed to show any increase in chromium excretion [107].…”