A Fatal Case of Hypermagnesemia Caused by Ingesting Magnesium Chloride as a Folk Remedy

We report a fatal case of hypermagnesemia caused by oral ingestion of milk containing magnesium chloride as a folk remedy. The autopsy of the 75‐year‐old woman showed no injury or illness as the cause of death. Neither alcohol nor controlled drugs were found by the toxicological analysis. Her posthu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of forensic sciences 2013-11, Vol.58 (6), p.1673-1675
Main Authors: Torikoshi‐Hatano, Aiko, Namera, Akira, Shiraishi, Hiroaki, Maeno, Yoshitaka, Kato, Hideaki, Nagao, Masataka
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Animals
Death & dying
Female
Folk medicine
folk remedy
forensic science
Forensic sciences
Forensic Toxicology
Humans
hypermagnesemia
laxative
Magnesium
Magnesium - blood
Magnesium Chloride - analysis
Magnesium Chloride - poisoning
Medicine, Traditional - adverse effects
Milk - chemistry
sudden death
Toxicity
Toxicology
toxicosis
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Summary:We report a fatal case of hypermagnesemia caused by oral ingestion of milk containing magnesium chloride as a folk remedy. The autopsy of the 75‐year‐old woman showed no injury or illness as the cause of death. Neither alcohol nor controlled drugs were found by the toxicological analysis. Her posthumous serum magnesium concentration was 10.2 mg/dL. The concentration of magnesium in serum was higher than that of the previous reports. Therefore, the cause of death was considered to be hypermagnesemia. Recently, the prescription drugs, over‐the‐counter drugs, and health foods containing magnesium are consumed as supplements in the world, and their potential toxicity should be recognized.
ISSN:0022-1198
1556-4029
DOI:10.1111/1556-4029.12266