Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Edathamil calcium-disodium, the calcium chelate of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, a new drug finding widespread use in heavy metal poisoning, has been considered generally a nontoxic material. The following report presents clinical and experimental data indicating that the compound has a previously unsuspected toxic potentiality. It is hoped that this new information will serve to promote caution in the use of the drug. The erroneous impression of lack of toxicity of the drug is based on many studies. Toxicity studies have been made and show that there is a wide spread between the therapeutic dose of 75 mg. per kilogram of body weight and the L. D.50dose, which varies from 500 to 7,000 mg. per kilogram, depending on the species and the route of administration. Metabolic studies done in this laboratory showed that the compound is not metabolized but excreted rapidly and virtually completely, thus supporting the conclusions of the low
Harry Foreman (Sat,) studied this question.