Acute Iron Poisoning—Clinical Features and Management

The patients admitted to the Royal Children's Hospital with iron ingestion between 1964 and 1973 are reviewed and the case histories of eight serious ingestions are summarized. The clinical features of vomiting, diarrhoea, cardiovascular collapse, increasing central depression leading to coma, and hepatic necrosis are discussed. The management, including the use of sodium bicarbonate, intravenous fluids and the specific antidote desferrioxamine, is discussed.