Chronic mercury intoxication by subcutaneuous self-injection and oral administration - case report

Both chronic and acute mercury exposure represents a threat to public health. Mercury is generally used in several industrial areas to manufacture a variety of chemical products such as paint, explosives, batteries, thermometers, electronics, etc. Although the medico-legal practice rarely deals with this specific pathology, it is not to be taken lightly, in most cases being result of suicide attempts through self-injection and oral administration with systemic and local consequences - mercurism. We present the case of a 56-year-old male admitted to the hospital with signs of acute renal failure of unknown origin and severe metabolic acidosis. At the time of admission, there wasn't sufficient data pointing to a chronic mercury intoxication. This diagnosis was later suspected and ultimately confirmed by autopsy and laboratory results (toxicology and histopathology).