Acute Intentional Iron Overdose in Pregnancy: An overview of Case and treatment in a resource limited setting. Acute Intentional Iron Overdose in Pregnancy

Abstract

Iron is a commonly ingested overdose medication in pregnancy considering it is easily accessible to pregnant women.1 Iron toxicity is a serious but often overlooked problem because of its unspecific and gradually developing symptoms. When Iron toxicity fails to be treated, it may sequentially undergo gastrointestinal, latent, systemic, hepatic and obstructive stages.

This case report discusses a 21-year-old primigravida patient at 17 weeks gestation who presented with acute iron toxicity after ingesting 76 tablets of pills containing ferrous sulfate. She presented with severe abdominal pain and persistent vomiting. This report tries to highlight the clinical presentation, diagnostic approach, and management strategies employed to treat this rare case of iron toxicity during pregnancy.