ascorbic-acid and Emergencies

A diet restricted to rice and boiled fruit and vegetables leads to vitamin C deficiency. We describe the third case, to our knowledge, of retinal hemorrhages related to scurvy. Reduced bilateral visual acuity in a 50-year-old patient was associated with macrocytic anemia, denutrition, and cutaneous ecchymoses. Oral vitamin C treatment provided subjective clinical improvement and regression of the retinal hemorrhages on fundus examination, with no side effects. Vitamin C plays an important role in collagen stability in vascular and bone walls.

Topics: Anemia, Macrocytic; Ascorbic Acid; Collagen; Cooking; Diet, Vegetarian; Ecchymosis; Emergencies; Gastritis, Atrophic; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Retinal Hemorrhage; Scurvy; Vitamin B 12 Deficiency

A simple and rapid method for determination of intentional contamination with heavy metals in foods using inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) has been developed. The heavy metals were extracted with sulfuric acid in a disposable tube using a homogenizer. The extract was diluted with 1% HNO(3) solution and analyzed with ICP-AES. Recovery tests of 9 metals, As, Cd, Cr, Hg, Mn, Pb, Sb, Sn, and Tl, from 12 foods were performed, and gave acceptable recovery (71-107%) with low relative standard deviation (1-11%). The time required for conversion of 12 samples to test solutions was approximately 2 hr. This method could be useful for identification of heavy metals involved in food poisoning cases.

Topics: Ascorbic Acid; Emergencies; Food Analysis; Food Contamination; Heavy Metal Poisoning, Nervous System; Humans; Metals, Heavy; Spectrophotometry, Atomic; Sulfuric Acids; Time Factors