Cobalt toxicity
Background
- Cobalt is essential for life as a catalytic center for vitamin B12. Toxicity is rare.
- Cobalt toxicity has been reported through the following exposures:[1]
- Orthopedic hip prostheses containing cobalt
- Work-related cobalt exposure
- Excessive drinking of beer containing cobalt sulfate
Clinical Features[2]
- Neurologic Dysfunction
- Hearing impairment
- Cognitive impairment
- Parasthesias
- Cardiovascular Dysfunction
- Beer drinkers' (dilated) cardiomyopathy
- Dyspnea
- Atrial fibrillation
- Thyroid Dysfunction
Differential Diagnosis
- Aluminum toxicity
- Antimony toxicity
- Arsenic toxicity
- Barium toxicity
- Beryllium toxicity
- Bismuth toxicity
- Boron toxicity
- Cadmium toxicity
- Cesium toxicity
- Chromium toxicity
- Cobalt toxicity
- Copper toxicity
- Gold toxicity
- Iron toxicity
- Lead toxicity
- Lithium toxicity
- Manganese toxicity
- Mercury toxicity
- Nickel toxicity
- Phosphorus toxicity
- Platinum toxicity
- Selenium toxicity
- Silver toxicity
- Thallium toxicity
- Tin toxicity
- Vanadium toxicity
- Zinc toxicity