A Male Adolescent With Fever, Headaches, and Body Aches

Abstract

A 17-year-old African-American male adolescent had recurrent emergency department visits for hypertension resistant to initial treatment, which resulted in multiple hospital admissions. Hypertension was associated with significant weight loss, peripheral neuropathy, and night sweats. An extensive laboratory and imaging workup ruled out renal, cardiac, rheumatologic, and endocrine causes for his symptoms. Ultimately, a more detailed history and toxicology consultation led to the cause of his persistent symptoms: mercury poisoning.