Thallium
- Description
- Thallium by ICP-MS
- Clinical details
- Thallium (Tl) is a soft metal used industrially in the manufacture of optical glass, and as a catalyst in some organic chemistry laboratories. It is still used in some countries as a rodenticide. It readily oxidises and is highly soluble in water, yielding a highly toxic, tasteless solution which has been used historically as a poison. In vivo, thallium is readily absorbed from the GI tract, and is thought to block the sodium/potassium pump within the nervous system, giving rise to characteristic neurological symptoms (peripheral neuropathy, developing into paraesthesia of the extremities, spreading to the trunk). Whole-body alopecia is a striking symptom of thallium toxicity. Thallium is excreted mainly through the biliary system, but undergoes extensive enterohepatic recirculation. Treatment of thallium poisoning with Prussian Blue [mixture of potassium hexacyanoferrate(II) and ferric hexacyanoferrate (II)], serves to interrupt the enterohepatic recirculation and aid excretion. Thallium is usually measured in urine for an indication of exposure, though blood, serum or plasma may also be used in severe cases.
- Reference range
Blood Thallium : < 5 nmol/L
Urine Thallium: < 5 nmol/mmol creatinine
- Synonyms
- Thallium
- Testing site
- Synnovis : Reference Services : King's College Hospital
- Laboratory
- Trace Elements
- Sample type and volume required
- 2ml EDTA whole blood, 20 ml urine (Portion of 24 hour collection [acid-washed bottle] in sterile universal, record total volume on sample tube or request form). Random urine collection in 25ml Sterilin Universal containers"
- Call in advance
- No
- Storage and transport
- Stable at 4°C. Send by overnight first class post..
- Turnaround time
- 10 working days
- Contacts
Toxicology Department at King’s Hospital
Phone: 020 3299 5881
Email: kch-tr.toxicology@nhs.net
King’s College Hospital
Bessemer Wing – 3rd Floor
Denmark Hill
London SE5 9RSTrace Elements Laboratory at King’s College Hospital
Phone: 020 3299 3008
Email: kishor.raja@nhs.net
King’s College Hospital
Bessemer Wing – Top Floor
Denmark Hill
London SE5 9RS