Journal
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF THE MEDICAL SCIENCES
Volume 336, Issue 5, Pages 430-433Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
DOI: 10.1097/MAJ.0b013e31815f2c05
Keywords
Coin ingestion; Zinc toxicity; Copper deficiency
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Acquired copper deficiency anemia is rare in humans. This report describes a 39-year-old schizophrenic man with metal pica, especially coins, who presented with symptomatic anemia. Two hundred seventy-five coins were surgically removed from the gastrointestinal tract of this patient during the course of his hospitalization. Some of the post-1981 pennies, which consist primarily of zinc, showed severe corrosion because of their prolonged contact with acidic gastric juice. The patient presented with clinical manifestations consistent with the local corrosive as well as the systemic effects of zinc intoxication. His treatment and outcome are presented. The effects of zinc intoxication on hematologic and other organ systems and on copper absorption are discussed.
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