Poisoning due to potassium bromate, cold wave neutralizer for permanent waving solution in hair styling, is rarely encountered and only few cases are as a cause of acute renal failure reported in medical literature. Recently, we saw a 18 year-old-female patient, hair stylist, who was admitted to Severance Hospital due to acute renal failure after accidental ingestion of potassium bromate. This is the first known case of acute renal failure due to potassium bromate poisoning in Korea.
Adolescent ; Bromates/poisoning* ; Bromine/poisoning* ; Female ; Hair Preparations/poisoning* ; Human ; Kidney Failure, Acute/chemically induced* ; Kidney Failure, Acute/diagnosis ; Korea ; Potassium/poisoning

Hair neutralizer in home permanent cold wave kits contains a 2% to 10% potassium or sodium bromate, which is colorless, odorless and tasteless solution. Bromate salts are extremely toxic oxidants. The reported toxic effects of bromates poisoning are vomiting, diarrhea, depression of central nervous system, oliguric acute renal failure, sensorineural hearing loss, peripheral neuropathy and hemolytic anemia. Deafness seems to be almost permanent. In many cases, the recovery of renal function is not complete and some of them are transformed to chronic renal failure and maintained on hemodialysis. Since the serious side effects of deafness and acute renal filure usually occur within 4-16 h after ingestion, prompt removal of the bromate from blood by peritoneal dialysis or hemodialysis, which are proven method of removal, should be performed immediately. Recently, we encountered a 37 year old female hairdresser who was admitted to St. Mary Hospital due to oligura, hearing loss and visual loss after ingestion of sodium bromate. The patient required regular hemodialysis therapy and no recovery of hearing and visual loss was evident up to 8 month follow up.
Acute Kidney Injury ; Adult ; Anemia, Hemolytic ; Bromates ; Central Nervous System ; Deafness ; Depression ; Diarrhea ; Eating ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hair ; Hearing Loss ; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural ; Hearing* ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Oxidants ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases ; Peritoneal Dialysis ; Poisoning* ; Potassium ; Renal Dialysis ; Renal Insufficiency* ; Salts ; Sodium* ; Vomiting