Acute Haemolytic Anaemia Following the Ingestion of Para-dichlorobenzene

Reports of cases of haemolytic anaemia after the ingestion of moth-balls are. scanty. Nash (1903) briefly records a case of a boy of 13 who developed black urine after eating a single moth-ball in mistake for a sweet, but no haematological data are given. Zuelzer and Apt (1949) describe the case histories of four young negro children who developed acute haemolytic anaemia and haemoglobinuria following the ingestion of moth-balls containing naphthalene. Gidron and Leurer (1956) report a girl of 16 who developed an acute haemolytic anaemia with haemoglobinuria after swallowing 6 g. of naphthalene in an attempt to commit suicide. The following is a report of a child who developed an acute haemolytic anaemia with methaemoglo- binuria after the ingestion of another demothing agent, para-dichlorobenzene.