Acute Barium Poisoning: A Case Report

Introduction: Through this case report, people can further understand the clinical manifestations and treatment methods of barium poisoning, and provide help for clinicians in the treatment of barium poisoning.Materials and methods: In April 2019, an acute poisoning patient who ate some "battercakes" was admitted to the Emergency Department of Liaocheng People's Hospital (Liaocheng, China), these "battercakes" were contaminated by barium carbonate which was mistaken as flour during the production of "battercakes". The clinical symptoms of poisoning included nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, severe hypokalemia, limb numbness and weakness, ant walking sensation, tongue numbness and stiffness, chest tightness, as well as respiratory paralysis. The patient was treated with comprehensive therapies which included ventilator-assisted breathing, antidote, short-term and super-large doses of potassium supplementation, anti-inflammatory and fluid infusion.Results: The patient recovered well and didn't have any sequela since the submission of this case report for publication.Conclusions: Barium poisoning can lead to a series of acute and severe symptoms in a short time, such as severe hypokalemia and respiratory failure and so on. The mortality of barium poisoning is very high, which needs to be alerted by clinicians.