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Cromo toxicidade
Cromo toxicidade
Cromo toxicidade
colite ulcéreuse. À l’admission, l’azathioprine a été temporairement défini mais pourrait impliquer la portion nitroimidazole de la molécule
cessée, ce qui a permis la résolution des signes et symptômes. Les d’azathioprine.
symptômes sont réapparus lorsque l’azathioprine a été reprise. Les CONCLUSIONS: L’hypersensibilité à l’azathioprine se manifeste
signes et symptômes présentés par le patient étant compatibles avec une fréquemment par des signes et symptômes ressemblant à une infection
réaction d’hypersensibilité à l’azathioprine, il fut décidé de cesser systémique tels que fièvre, leucocytose, et évidence de dysfonction d’un
définitivement l’azathioprine. organe. Le diagnostic d’hypersensibilité à l’azathioprine devrait être
DISCUSSION: Selon les auteurs, il s’agirait du premier cas considéré chez les patients qui reçoivent depuis peu de l’azathioprine ou
d’hypersensibilité à l’azathioprine rapporté chez un patient atteint de chez qui la dose d’azathioprine a été augmentée.
colite ulcéreuse. L’évolution de la réaction dans le temps, les signes et ALAIN MARCOTTE
symptômes de même que la réapparition des symptômes lors de la
réadministration du médicament tendent à incriminer l’azathioprine. Le
Jennifer Cerulli, Darren W Grabe, Isabelle Gauthier, Margaret Malone, and M Donald McGoldrick
OBJECTIVE: To describe a case of toxicity secondary to chronic increase lean body mass, and/or improve glycemic control.
ingestion of 6–12 times the recommended daily allowance of over- Information regarding the toxicity of chromium picolinate is limited.
the-counter (OTC) chromium picolinate. CONCLUSIONS: Chromium supplements may cause serious renal
CASE SUMMARY: A 33-year-old white woman presented with weight impairment when ingested in excess. Medication histories should
loss, anemia, thrombocytopenia, hemolysis, liver dysfunction include attention to the use of OTC nutritional supplements often
(aminotransferase enzymes 15–20 times normal, total bilirubin 3 regarded as harmless by the public and lay media.
times normal), and renal failure (serum creatinine 5.3 mg/dL; blood KEY WORDS: chromium picolinate, toxicity.
urea nitrogen 152 mg/dL). She had ingested chromium picolinate
1200–2400 µg/d for the previous 4–5 months to enhance weight Ann Pharmacother 1998;32:428-31.
loss. The patient had chromium plasma concentrations 2–3 times
normal. Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and hemolytic
uremic syndrome were ruled out by clinical findings, peripheral
blood smears, and a bone marrow biopsy. The patient was managed THERE IS INCREASING INTEREST in the use of nutritional sup-
with supportive measures and received blood product transfusions plements to promote or improve health status. Individuals
and hemodialysis. Hemolysis stabilized and liver function improved can gain information on nutritional supplements from the
over 6 days. Liver function returned to normal prior to discharge. lay press or on the Internet, and purchase them at pharma-
Renal function began to return on day 12 and her serum creatinine cies and health food stores. Often, information regarding
on discharge was 1.3 mg/dL. One year later, all laboratory values
were within normal limits.
the efficacy and toxicity of these products is lacking in the
medical literature. Clinicians should be aware of their pa-
DISCUSSION: Trivalent chromium is an essential trace element that is
considered safe when ingested in normal quantities. Trivalent
tients’ use of over-the-counter (OTC) nutritional supple-
chromium compounds are used by patients to enhance weight loss, ments. OTC chromium compounds are used to enhance
weight loss and improve glycemic control. Currently, there
is little information available regarding the toxicity of
Jennifer Cerulli PharmD BCPS, Fellow, Nutrition Support, Division of Pharmacy Practice, trivalent chromium (III), a naturally occurring essential el-
Albany College of Pharmacy, Albany, NY
Darren W Grabe PharmD, Fellow, Nephrology, Division of Pharmacy Practice, Albany
ement, which is considered safe when consumed in normal
College of Pharmacy amounts.1 The current recommended daily allowance
Isabelle Gauthier PharmD BCPS, at time of writing, Resident, Oncology, Department of (RDA) is 50 –200 µg/d.2 Recently, a trivalent chromium
Pharmacy, Albany Medical Center, Albany, NY, and Division of Pharmacy Practice,
Albany College of Pharmacy; now, Assistant Clinical Professor, Faculty of Pharma- compound, chromium picolinate, was indicated as the
cy, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada cause of chronic renal failure in a 49-year-old woman who
Margaret Malone PhD FCCP BCNSP, Professor, Division of Pharmacy Practice, Albany Col-
lege of Pharmacy ingested 600 µg/d for 6 weeks.3 We describe a patient who
M Donald McGoldrick MB FRCP(C), Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of developed thrombocytopenia, hemolysis, hepatic dysfunc-
Nephrology, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY
Reprints: Jennifer Cerulli PharmD BCPS, Division of Pharmacy Practice, Albany College
tion, and acute renal failure after chronic ingestion of 6–12
of Pharmacy, 106 New Scotland Ave., Albany, NY 12208, FAX 518/445-7202 times the maximum RDA of chromium picolinate.
CASE REPORT not performed. The patient received transfusions of packed red
blood cells and platelets. By day 6 the intravascular hemolysis
A 33-year-old white woman presented to the emergency depart- stabilized, and her platelet count began to rise.
ment after a 1–2 week history of severe fatigue and malaise that On admission the patient’s liver function enzymes and bilirubin
had worsened over the past 3 days. She reported fever and chills were elevated; however, they immediately began to decrease af-
without diaphoresis, abdominal pain, nausea, or vomiting. Her ter admission and normalized prior to discharge. Initial prothrom-
medical history was significant for schizophrenia and depression, bin time and partial thromboplastin time values were slightly ele-
which were diagnosed approximately 6 months prior. She had re- vated, but returned to normal by week 2 of hospitalization. The
ceived paroxetine and monthly fluphenazine injections until 2 results of a hepatitis panel were negative.
weeks prior to admission. The patient reported currently taking On presentation to the emergency department, the patient’s
no OTC or prescription medications other than 6–12 chromium blood urea nitrogen (BUN) was 152 mg/dL, serum creatinine
picolinate 200-µg tablets per day for the past 4–5 months to in- was 5.3 mg/dL, and urine output was estimated to be less than
duce weight loss. She had intentionally lost 4.5 kg in the previous 200 mL/d. A urinalysis revealed brown cloudy urine containing
2 weeks and a total of 11.4 kg over 3 months. She was subse- muddy brown casts and the following data: pH 5, protein more
quently diagnosed with an eating disorder, for which dietary and
than 300 mg/dL, glucose 100 mg/dL, urobilinogen = 1 EU/L,
psychiatric counseling were provided.
2–5 white blood cells/high power field (hpf), 40–50 red blood
Physical examination revealed a 157-cm, 41-kg, cachetic,
cells/hpf, and 2+ bacteria/hpf. The urine was positive for nitrate
jaundiced woman. Her BP was 94/62 mm Hg, HR 97 beats/min,
and leukocyte esterase, but contained no ketones or squamous
and T 36.4 ˚C. Her sclera were icteric and her abdomen was
scaphoid, nontender, and nondistended, with bowel sounds. The epithelial cells. The urine culture grew more than 100 000 Cit-
examination was negative for hepatosplenomegaly, edema, and robacter koseri and the patient was treated with a 7-day course of
petechiae. She was alert and oriented. ofloxacin. Her serum creatinine continued to rise to 6.1 mg/dL on
The patient presented with anemia, hemolysis, thrombocy- day 3, at which time she became encephalopathic. Hemodialysis
topenia, hepatic dysfunction, and acute renal failure. Pertinent was undertaken on days 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, and 13. An abdomi-
laboratory results are presented in Table 1. A Coombs test was nal/renal ultrasound performed on day 8 revealed enlarged kid-
negative, and the haptoglobin concentration was less than 50 neys (14 cm) consistent with an acute infiltrative process. On day
mg/dL (normal 50–220). Wilson’s disease was ruled out as a 11, the urine output began to increase and by day 12 had in-
cause of hemolysis because of normal ceruloplasmin and copper creased to 2 L/24 hours. Her serum creatinine on discharge on
concentrations, and no Kayser–Fleischer ring was observed on day 26 was 1.3 mg/dL.
ophthalmologic examination. A preliminary diagnosis of severe Due to the patient’s chronic consumption of chromium picoli-
hemolysis secondary to thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura or nate, chromium toxicity was suspected. A plasma chromium
hemolytic uremic syndrome (TTP/HUS) was made on the basis concentration obtained on day 2 was elevated at 4.6 µg/mL (nor-
of initial peripheral blood smear, which revealed schistocytes. mal 0.1–2.1). Additional chromium concentrations were obtained
However, subsequent peripheral blood smears and a bone mar- before and after hemodialysis on day 3 (4.3 and 6.5 µg/mL, re-
row biopsy revealed no evidence of microangiopathic hemolytic spectively) and repeated on day 12 (5.3 µg/mL).
anemia, despite continued hemolysis. In addition, the patient was After 26 days of hospitalization, the patient was discharged
afebrile on admission and without mental status changes. There- with a final diagnosis of hemolysis, as well as acute liver and re-
fore, TTP/HUS was considered unlikely, and plasmapheresis was nal failure secondary to chromium toxicity. One year later, on ad-
mission to the mental health unit, her serum crea-
tinine was 0.4 mg/dL, and her liver enzymes and
hematologic laboratory values were within normal
limits. No additional chromium concentrations
Table 1. Laboratory Results were obtained.
HOSPITAL DAY
3 3 Discussion
PARAMETER 1 2 (pre-HD) (post-HD) 11 12 26
WBC (103/mm3) 22.5 9.5 13.0 6.4 13.1 11.9 13.9 Chromium is an essential trace element that
Hct (%) 15.3 26.8 25 27.9 33.8 38.2 36.7 can occur in several oxidative states from 2– to
Plt (103/mm3) 15 95 62 28 325 6+.1 The most commonly occurring forms of
Alkaline 131 146 135 116 chromium are hexavalent (VI) and trivalent
phosphatase (III). Hexavalent chromium is used for dyes,
(IU/mL) leather tanning, and chrome plating. Chronic
AST (IU/L) 1274 549 370 223 17 exposure to hexavalent chromium compounds
ALT (IU/L) 992 891 is responsible for industrial health problems
Total bilirubin 3.7 1.3 0.6
(mg/dL)
such as skin ulcerations, nasal septum perfora-
LDH (IU/L) 7879a a
1396 1154 420 220 tion, chromate dermatitis, and lung cancer,4
CK (IU/L) 981 a
361 190 23 and is considered 100 times more toxic than
BUN (mg/dL) 152 140 144 36 38 32 40 trivalent chromium.4
SCr (mg/dL) 5.3 6.0 6.1 1.8 4.5 3.8 1.3 Cases of acute ingestion of industrial hex-
Urine output 100–200 200 120 700+ 2100 4000 avalent chromium have been reported.5,6 A
(mL/d) worker developed thrombocytopenia, hemor-
Chromium 4.6 4.3 6.5 5.3 rhage, gastroenteritis, toxic hepatitis, and tubu-
concentration lar nephritis after accidental oral ingestion of
(µg/mL)
(normal 0.1–2.1) chromic acid (a hexavalent chromium com-
pound).5 The patient received three hemodial-
ALT = alanine aminotransferase; AST = aspartate aminotransferase; BUN = blood urea ysis sessions and made a complete recovery.
nitrogen; CK = creatine kinase; Hct = hematocrit; HD = hemodialysis; LDH = lactate de-
hydrogenase; Plt = platelets; SCr = serum creatinine; WBC = white blood cell count. Chromium concentrations were obtained from
a
Hemolyzed specimen. the blood, the urine, and the dialysis fluid; this