The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) mercury was detected in the blood and urine, and the urinary mercury/creatinine (UMC) ratio was larger than 20 µmol/mol, which was the chronic Hg exposure limit (35.0 µg/g creatinine ≈ 20 µmol/mol) set by the Chinese Occupational Health Standard (WS/T 265–2006) and (2) at least one of the following symptoms was present: neurasthenia syndrome (dizziness, fatigue, insomnia, dreaming, forgetfulness, and inattention), tremor, limb or trunk pain, oral gingivitis, proteinuria, etc. In total, 288 cases were screened according to the flowchart (Fig. In this retrospective study, we analyzed the data for patients treated for mercury poisoning between July 2014 and September 2019 at The Poisoning Treatment Department of The Fifth Medical Center of the PLA General Hospital in China. The STROBE (strengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology) criteria were followed. Poisoning patients were mainly admitted from northern, central, and eastern China.

This study was a single-center, retrospective analysis conducted at a 52-bed poisoning treatment center in Fengtai District, Beijing, China. Our findings provide important information for clinicians and health authorities on the pathogeny of mercury poisoning in China. In the present study, we carried out a retrospective analysis of the clinical manifestations, treatment, and follow-up of Chinese patients with mercury poisoning.

Although incidents of mercury poisoning in China have been occasionally reported domestically and abroad, there have been no clinical studies involving a large sample size to date. Unlike TCMs, which are formally approved medical treatments and have reasonably safe levels of bioaccessible Hg, Chinese folk remedies (CFRs) induce mercury poisoning via the inhale Hg 0 or oral HgS routes which involve an informal use of TCMs, rely mostly on experience rather than on formal teachings, and have not been approved by the government. Mercury-containing compounds have been used for centuries for commercial and medical purposes and are a common constituent of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs), such as HgS. Analysis of 19 creams from China, Thailand, and Vietnam showed that they contained mercury at concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 12,590 mg Mercury poisoning absorbs IHg via the trans-epidermal and trans-appendageal routes, such as mercurous chloride, mercurous oxide, mercuric chloride and ammoniated mercury, following the use of skin-lightening creams has been reported in Africa, Europe, the United States, Mexico, Australia, and Hong Kong.

Mercury poisoning is caused by inhalating Hg 0 or eating foods polluted by IHg in a variety of industrial settings, including the chlor-alkali industry ( Hg 0 ), thermometer ( Hg 0 ) and fluorescent lamp manufacturing facilities ( Hg 0 ), as well as chemical processing ( Hg 0, IHg), and dental practices ( Hg 0 ). Epidemiological data show that mercury poisoning mainly results from occupational contact with mercury, abuse of mercury-containing compounds, or the use of skin-lightening cosmetic products. The levels of urinary Hg and MeHg in the majority of the general public in China were below the reference value set by the Chinese health authority, except for a few mining areas, due to abundant food resources and low concentration of methylmercury in inland cultured fish. People showed different clinical manifestations when exposed in different ways to different forms of mercury, such as Hg vapour (Hg 0) target damage the brain and kidney, inorganic Hg (IHg) target damage the kidney, and organic Hg (OHg, assumed to be methylmercury MeHg) target damage the brain. Mercury (Hg) poisoning has been a major public health in the world. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( ) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

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