Contents
Cadmium is a naturally occurring toxic heavy metal with common exposure in industrial workplaces, plant soils, and from smoking.
Exposure
- Nickel-cadmium batteries
- Industrial areas, hazardous waste-sites or factories (esp. in Japan)
- Smoking
- Artists (cadmium pigments)
- Fertilizers (some phosphate-containing agents)
- Affected plants
Clinical features
- Inhalation: Respiratory & renal systems
- Ingestion: GI + liver damage & renal system
Acute symptoms:
- Flu-like symptoms:
- Chills, fever, and muscle ache sometimes referred to as “the cadmium blues“
- May resolve after a week if there is no respiratory damage
- Severe exposures (respiratory damage):
- Tracheobronchitis, pneumonitis, and pulmonary oedema
Later symptoms:
- Symptoms of inflammation (hours after the exposure):
- Cough, dryness and irritation of the nose and throat, headache, dizziness, weakness, fever, chills, and chest pain
- Irreversible anosmia (total loss of smell)
- Musculoskeletal system:
- Osteomalacia (soft bones), osteoporosis (less bone density)
- Pain in the joints and the back, and also increases the risk of fracture
- Osteomalacia (soft bones), osteoporosis (less bone density)
- Renal system:
- Proximal renal tubular dysfunction
- Hypophosphatemia → muscle weakness and sometimes coma
- Hyperuricemia → Gout
- Hypercloremia
- Kidneys shrink by up to 30%
- ↑ risk of kidney stones
- Proximal renal tubular dysfunction
During pregnancy:

Diagnosis
Low & chronic (prolonged) exposure:
- Urinary β-2 microglobulin (indirect method of measuring cadmium exposure)
- Early indicator of renal dysfunction in persons chronically exposed to low but excessive levels of environmental cadmium
Excessive exposure (industrial situations) or acute poisoning:
- Blood or urine cadmium concentrations
Management
Screening
- Urinary β-2 microglobulin screening for renal damage in workers with long-term exposure to high levels of cadmium
Treatment:
- Gastric decontamination (soon after exposure):
- Emesis or gastric lavage
Activated charcoal,chelation therapiesare not effective- Prevent additional exposure (M/imp measure)