ArticleLa Medicina del lavoro2021
Lead poisoning from Ayurvedic treatment: a further case.
Article in La Medicina del lavoro, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 4 citations in OpenAlex.
- Lead and arsenic intoxications by traditional and alternative medicine: men are more sensitive than women.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Lead Poisoning Revealed by Unexplained Abdominal Pain and Anemia in a Young Adult: A Diagnostic Challenge.Clinical case reports · 2026Article
- Lead Toxicity Associated With Over-The-Counter Slimming Supplements: A Case Report.Clinical case reports · 2026Article
- Clinical-Pathological Conference Series from the Medical University of Graz : Case No 125: A 42-year-old man with loss of appetite, vomiting and stabbing abdominal pain.Wiener klinische Wochenschrift · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeWe report a case of a 30 years old Indian sailor with microcytic anemia (Hb 9.9), persistent abdominal pain, emesis, dark stool, hyperchromic urine, latent jaundice and asthenia. Lead intoxication was confirmed (blood lead value of 102 μg/dL). The patient assumed Ayurvedic medicines in the previous months. Ayurveda is an ancient form of Indian traditional popular medicine aiming to re-establish health and body function through herbal preparations, heavy metals are often added. Our purpose was to treat the patient and to establish the source of poisoning.
methodsAfter testing blood and urine lead concentration of other 3 crew members and analyzing over than 150 products used on the ship professional exposure was excluded. We analyzed the two Ayurvedic drugs assumed by the patient with an Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. The patient underwent three chelation cycles with Calcium Disodium Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) while monitoring blood and urinary lead levels.
resultsThe final blood lead level at discharge, after three chelation cycles, was 36.27 μg/dL. One of the two drugs contained extremely high concentrations of lead and mercury. The three different mixtures of this preparation showed lead concentrations of 12,638.54 mg/kg (Sample 2A), 23,043.02 mg/kg (Sample 2B), 21,352.97 mg/kg (Sample 2C); these levels are much higher than the highest values reported in literature for the indian soil (32 mg/kg).
conclusionsThis case and similar cases raise the safety alert on complementary and alternative medicines; Ayurvedic medicine users should be carefully informed about potential risks and signs of poisoning.
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