Acute Alopecia: Clue to Thallium Toxicity

Abstract

The combination of rapid, diffuse alopecia, and neurologic and gastrointestinal disturbance is pathognomonic for thallium toxicity. The hair mount, showing a tapered or bayonet anagen hair with black pigmentation at the base, may be highly diagnostic before the onset of alopecia. We saw a 10-year-old boy who suffered from thallium poisoning.