title: Severe iron intoxication treated with exchange transfusion.
abstract: An 18-month-old previous healthy girl who had ingested 442 mg elemental iron/kg was admitted to a paediatric intensive care unit. The child was treated with gastric lavage, whole bowel irrigation and intravenous deferoxamine. After 2 h of standard therapy serum iron had risen threefold to 1362 µg/dl (244 µmol/l). The child was treated with exchange transfusion (ET; 52 ml/kg) and serum iron fell to 134 µg/dl (24 µmol/l). The patient made an uncomplicated recovery. ET should be considered in severe iron poisoning when standard therapy is inadequate.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carlsson
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cortes
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jepsen
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kanstrup