Unregulated supplement use causing insidious lead toxicity

Grant Manh-Tri Pham; Anuj Sharma

doi:10.1080/08998280.2022.2139143

Unregulated supplement use causing insidious lead toxicity

Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent). 2022 Nov 14;36(2):226-227. doi: 10.1080/08998280.2022.2139143. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Grant Manh-Tri Pham¹, Anuj Sharma¹

Affiliation

¹ Texas A&M Family Medicine Residency, Baylor Scott and White Medical Center - Round Rock, Round Rock, Texas.

Abstract

A woman with extensive chronic fatigue presented to the emergency department with vague abdominal complaints and was subsequently found to have microcytic anemia secondary to lead intoxication. Upon further investigation, the unlikely source of lead intoxication was found to be the supplements she procured from her frequent overseas trips to South Asia. Chelation therapy was started and lead levels dropped.

Keywords: Ayurveda; lead; microcytic anemia; supplementation.

Publication types

Case Reports