Colloidal silver ingestion and severe anemia – A case report

INTRODUCTION: Colloidal silver ingestion as an alternative medicine treatment is becoming more common. This case report describes a patient with potential silver poisoning and severe anemia. CASE DESCRIPTION: A woman in her late sixties was transported to the emergency department because of progressive fatigue and nausea. She had been drinking 150 µg of colloidal silver daily for two to three weeks. Blood sampling revealed severe anemia (red blood cell count 48 g/L) and a whole-blood silver concentration of 20 µg/L. Liver function tests were abnormal and there were signs of incipient heart failure with increased pro-brain natriuretic peptide, troponin T, as well as pleural effusion. She was stabilized with blood transfusion and symptomatic treatment, to be discharged from the hospital after ten days. The patient improved over the following six weeks and the whole-blood silver concentration decreased to 3.3 µg/L after about three months. CONCLUSIONS: The case demonstrates the potential effects of silver intake on the hematopoietic, hepatic, and cardiovascular systems. This highlights the possible risks associated with emerging alternative medicine therapies.