Abstract

VILLALOBOS VARGAS, Katherine  and  CHACON BARQUERO, Lawrence. Milk of magnesia intoxication in a pediatric patient with chronic constipation: case report. Med. leg. Costa Rica [online]. 2021, vol.38, n.2, pp.69-76. ISSN 2215-5287.

Accidental intoxications continue to be an important problem in the Forensic Pathology field, mostly when they occur in pediatric patients where it is necessary to dismiss other causes of death and to rule out homicide. Milk of magnesia intoxication is a rare diagnosis, therefore it is important to know it´s characteristics, evolution and the metabolic disorders that lead to death. Hypermagnesemia is an iatrogenic condition, usually caused by the administration of medications that contain magnesium, such as laxatives in patients with chronic constipation, without medical supervision; that can lead to respiratory distress, hypotension, cardiac arrest and death. The diagnosis of milk of magnesia intoxication is clinical and can be correlated to the levels of magnesium found in blood sample analysis. We present a case of milk of magnesia intoxication in a 6-year-old girl with cerebral palsy and chronic constipation that was given laxatives by her parents and developed a fatal hypermagnesemia.

Keywords : Hydroelectrolytic disorder; hypermagnesemia; milk magnesia; laxative abuse; chronic constipation; autopsy..

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