Uses of error: Medical history

A decade ago, a 54-year-old man was referred to me because his face, hands, and nails had started to turn grey during the previous 7 summers. Clinically, the grey-black discolouration of his skin was a clear-cut case of argyria. I asked him specifically if he was taking any medication, particularly...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Lancet (British edition) Vol. 360; no. 9334; p. 689
Main Author Faergemann, Jan
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Elsevier Limited 31.08.2002
Subjects
Discoloration
Disease
Drugs
Medical diagnosis
Physical examinations
Silver
Skin
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Summary:A decade ago, a 54-year-old man was referred to me because his face, hands, and nails had started to turn grey during the previous 7 summers. Clinically, the grey-black discolouration of his skin was a clear-cut case of argyria. I asked him specifically if he was taking any medication, particularly anything containing silver salts, but his answer was no. The patient had played the horn since childhood, and currently played in the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. The mouthpiece of the horn is coated in silver, and I thought that the uptake of silver in the skin could come from this unusual source. Metallic silver is not usually the course of argyria; salts such as silver nitrate are much more common.
ISSN:0140-6736
1474-547X