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Accidental death from acute selenium poisoning
Author(s) -
See Katharine A,
Lavercombe Peter S,
Dillon Jasmine,
Ginsberg Riesa
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2006.tb00616.x
Subject(s) - spanish civil war , history , medicine , archaeology
We report a fatal case of acute selenium poisoning in a 75-year-old man. After reading on the Internet about a possible role of selenium in prostate cancer, the patient ingested 10 g of sodium selenite. Despite intensive care treatment, he suffered a cardiac arrest and died 6 hours after ingestion. This case illustrates the risks of failing to critically evaluate Internet information and exposes the myth that natural therapies are inherently safe.