A case of acute organotin poisoning.

Alkyl compounds of tin chlorides are widely used for the production of plastics in the chemical industry. They inhibit the dissociation of hydrochloric acid from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and in combination with PVC they are not toxic. However, as free molecules, organic tin compounds are highly toxic in contrast to inorganic tin compounds. The toxic components are dimethyltin chloride and trimethyltin chloride. Previous studies have reported that dimethyltin chloride is toxic to the liver and kidneys, whereas trimethyltin chloride damages the central nervous system. The neurotoxicity of dialkyltin or trialkyltin compounds has been recognized in animal studies, but only a few descriptions of their human toxicity have been reported . Especially, reports of human dimethyltin intoxication are very rare. We report here a case with neurological manifestations similar to trialkyltin encephalopathy from the exposure to dimethyltin compounds.