Sodium calcium edetate (sodium calcium EDTA), also known as edetate calcium disodium among other names, is a medication primarily used to treat

lead poisoning Lead poisoning, also known as plumbism and saturnism, is a type of metal poisoning caused by lead in the body. The brain is the most sensitive. Symptoms may include abdominal pain, constipation, headaches, irritability, memory problems, infertil ...

, including both short-term and long-term lead poisoning. Sodium calcium edetate came into medical use in the United States in 1953.

Chelation agent

Sodium calcium edetate is in the

chelating agent Chelation is a type of bonding of ions and molecules to metal ions. It involves the formation or presence of two or more separate coordinate bonds between a polydentate (multiple bonded) ligand and a single central metal atom. These ligands a ...

family of medication. It is a salt of edetate with two

sodium Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable ...

and one

calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar ...

atoms. It works by binding to a number of heavy metals, which renders them almost inert and allows them to leave the body in the urine. Edetate disodium is a different formulation which does not have the same effects.

Medical use

Sodium calcium edetate's primary use is to treat

, for which it is an alternative to succimer. It is given by slow injection into a vein or into a muscle. For

lead encephalopathy Toxic encephalopathy is a neurologic disorder caused by exposure to neurotoxic organic solvents such as toluene, following exposure to heavy metals such as manganese, as a side effect of melarsoprol treatment for African trypanosomiasis, adverse ...

sodium calcium edetate is typically used together with

dimercaprol Dimercaprol, also called British anti-Lewisite (BAL), is a medication used to treat acute poisoning by arsenic, mercury, gold, and lead. It may also be used for antimony, thallium, or bismuth poisoning, although the evidence for those uses is ...

. It may also be used to treat

plutonium Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exh ...

poisoning. It does ''not'' appear to be useful for poisoning by tetra-ethyl lead.

Side effects

Common side effects include pain at the site of injection. Other side effects may include

kidney problems Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

, diarrhea, fever, muscle pains, and

low blood pressure Hypotension is low blood pressure. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps out blood. Blood pressure is indicated by two numbers, the systolic blood pressure (the top number) and the di ...

. Benefits when needed in

pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but ...

are likely greater than the risks.

History

Sodium calcium edetate came into medical use in the United States in 1953. It is on the

World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines The WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (aka Essential Medicines List or EML), published by the World Health Organization (WHO), contains the medications considered to be most effective and safe to meet the most important needs in a health s ...

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Medicine Calcium compounds Chelating agents used as drugs Organic sodium salts World Health Organization essential medicines