Doctors at HCMCT Manipal Hospital saves 2-year-old with mercury poisoning

New Delhi: Recently, doctors at HCMCT Manipal Hospital saved a 2-year-old child with mercury poisoning following the accidental ingestion of mercury from a broken thermometer.

The child was brought to the hospital after the thermometer broke in his mouth. Initially, there were no visible signs of abdominal pain or vomiting, making it difficult to assess the extent of mercury ingestion.

The child was initially managed conservatively with laxatives under close observation, as the exact amount of mercury ingested was unknown. All routine tests, including serum and urine mercury levels, were conducted. However, despite the use of laxatives, an abdominal X-ray revealed a substantial amount of mercury spread throughout the bowel, posing significant health risks.

After 48 hours with no improvement in mercury clearance, Dr. Sufla Saxena, Head of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and her team proceeded with an urgent colonoscopy. During the procedure, mercury was located throughout the large bowel and at the tip of the appendix. A comprehensive bowel lavage was conducted (a procedure that involves flushing out the large intestine with liquid to clean it) to flush out the mercury from the colon.