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Prussian blue (medical use)
Dark blue pigment used as a medication From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Prussian blue, also known as potassium ferric hexacyanoferrate, is used as a medication to treat thallium poisoning or radioactive caesium poisoning.[1][2] For thallium it may be used in addition to gastric lavage, activated charcoal, forced diuresis, and hemodialysis.[3][4] It is given by mouth or nasogastric tube.[2][4] Prussian blue is also used in the urine to test for G6PD deficiency.[5]
Side effects may include constipation, low blood potassium, and stools that are dark.[1][3] With long-term use, sweat may turn blue.[3] It mainly works by trapping the toxic monovalent cations in its crystal lattice after ion-exchange with potassium or ammonium cations and thus preventing the absorption of thallium and radio-caesium from the intestines.[3]
Prussian blue was developed around 1706.[6] It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.[7] As of 2016[update], it is only approved for medical use in Germany, the United States, and Japan.[8][9][10] Access to medical-grade Prussian blue can be difficult in many areas of the world including the developed world.[11]
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Medical uses
Prussian blue is used to treat thallium poisoning or radioactive caesium poisoning.[1][2][12] It may also be used for exposure to radioactive material until the underlying type is determined.[3][clarification needed]
Often it is given with mannitol or sorbitol to increase the speed it moves through the intestines.[4]
Prussian blue is also used to detect hemosiderin in urine to confirm a diagnosis of G6PD deficiency.[5]
Thallium poisoning
For thallium it may be used in addition to gastric lavage, forced diuresis, and hemodialysis.[3]
It is given until the amount of thallium in the urine drops to below 0.5 mg per day.[4]
Caesium poisoning
It is specifically only used for radioactive caesium poisoning when the caesium has entered the body either by swallowing or breathing it in.[4]
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References
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