GENERALIZED ARGINIA

A brief review of literature on the problem of argyria is presented. Hyperpigmentation of the skin in 10-20% of cases has an iatrogenic cause. Hyperpigmentation of the skin can form on the background of taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, amiodarone, cytostatics, antimalarials, etc. Systemic deposition of silver in various organs and tissues is known as generalized argyria. The disease is caused by the prolonged use of compounds containing silver (lapis pencil, silver nitrate, etc.). Clinically, generalized arginia is characterized by the gradual appearance of ashy-bluish coloration of the skin of open areas of the body (face, neck) and nail plates of the phalanges of the hands. The period from the moment of the beginning of reception of preparations of silver and before occurrence of the first dermatological changes varies on the average from 1 year to 5 years. Generalized argiria is a rare disease. This is due to the limited use of silver drugs in clinical practice, as well as the improvement of technological processes in pharmacological production. The patient’s own observation with generalized arginia formed against the background of the long-term administration of the drug Argovit-S, whose silver content is 0.75-0.85 mg/ml, is analyzed. The patient took the drug alone as a food supplement for 25 years. The diagnosis of generalized arginia is verified clinically, but is confirmed necessarily in the course of histological examination. It is shown that argyria is not only the iatrogenic cause of skin hyperpigmentation, but a serious risk factor for the manifestation and progression of liver cirrhosis. Patients with generalized arginia should undergo a comprehensive examination in order to verify the serious pathology of internal organs.

generalized arginia, preparations of silver, hyperpigmentation of the skin, histological examination, cirrhosis of the liver, pathology of internal organs