Death Following Cupric Sulfate Emesis

Abstract

Case History: A 25-year-old woman who had ingested about 20 tablets of diazepam 2.5 mg in a suicide attempt was given cupric sulfate 2.5 g in 1750 mL water as an emetic, but died 3 days later. On autopsy, death was attributed to acute hemolysis and acute renal failure due to copper poisoning. Copper concentrations were 5.31 μg/mL in whole blood, 19.0 μg/g in the liver, 8.9 μg/g in the kidney, 1.1 μg/L in the brain, 1.1 μg/g in the gastric wall, 1.5 μg/g in the jejunal wall, 0.3 μg/g in the colon wall, 4.6 μg/g in the gastric contents, and 12.6 μg/g in the intestinal contents (fresh weight). This case and 10 others from the Chinese medical literature provide additional evidence that cupric sulfate is a corrosive poison and contraindicated as an emetic.