Safety of alternative medicines reconsidered: lead-induced anaemia caused by an indian ayurvedic formulation

We report two cases of Belgian women diagnose with a lead poisoning. Both patients presented with abdominal pain and a normochromic normocytic anaemia. The diagnosis was based on the clinical symptoms, the anaemia, the basophilic stippling of erythrocytes and the elevated blood lead level Upon furth...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inActa clinica belgica (English ed. Online) Vol. 63; no. 1; p. 42
Main Authors Creemers, L, Van den Driessche, M, Moens, M, Van Olmen, A, Verschaeren, J, T'Syen, M, Desmet, K, Moerman, J
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 01.01.2008
Subjects
Adult
Belgium
Female
Humans
Lead Poisoning - diagnosis
Lead Poisoning - etiology
Lead Poisoning - therapy
Medicine, Ayurvedic
Middle Aged
Belgium
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:We report two cases of Belgian women diagnose with a lead poisoning. Both patients presented with abdominal pain and a normochromic normocytic anaemia. The diagnosis was based on the clinical symptoms, the anaemia, the basophilic stippling of erythrocytes and the elevated blood lead level Upon further questioning, both patients reported the use of Ayurvedic medications. Toxicological analysis of the different pills revealed that, in both, the same orange-red pills contained a remarkably high amount of lead. Cases of lead poisoning associated with the use ofAyurvedic formulations are emerging around the world. However, to our knowledge, these are the first reported cases in Belgium.
ISSN:1784-3286
DOI:10.1179/acb.2008.007