Title: Arsenic exposure and poisoning - UpToDate
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Arsenic exposure and poisoning
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INTRODUCTION
SOURCES OF EXPOSURE
REFERENCES

Content: Lower-dose chronic arsenic exposure can result in subacute toxicity that can include skin changes and skin cancer, peripheral sensorimotor neuropathy, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular effects, peripheral vascular disease, hepatotoxicity, and other conditions [ 1 ]. Latent or long-term effects of arsenic exposure include an increased risk of cancers, even after exposure has ceased. Clinicians may need to consider arsenic exposure in the emergency care setting when treating those suspected of acute poisoning or those who present with prolonged or intermittent gastrointestinal symptoms that are atypical for most viral and bacterial enteric illnesses [ 2 ]. In the office setting, clinicians may need to consider questions concerning chronic arsenic exposure in patients whose source of water is well water, exposure from food (particularly rice products), and exposure in other environmental settings. SOURCES OF EXPOSURE
Overview — Arsenic is a naturally occurring element found in the earth's crust and within numerous ores. It is classed as a metalloid because it complexes with metals; it also reacts with other elements such as oxygen, hydrogen, chlorine, carbon, and sulfur. Elemental arsenic is rare, and the element exists more commonly as organic or inorganic compounds [ 2 ]. Arsenical compounds can be grouped as inorganic, organic, and arsine gas (AsH3). They are further classified according to their valence states: