Man Hospitalized After Following AI Advice: A Case of Poisoning

The story begins quite ordinarily. A 60-year-old man decided to improve his health by reducing his intake of salt, or sodium chloride. Instead of consulting a doctor, he turned to ChatGPT, a chatbot from OpenAI. It suggested sodium bromide as a substitute. The man ordered the substance online and began incorporating it into his diet. It all sounds simple, but after three months, the situation deteriorated dramatically.

The man was looking for a way to reduce the amount of salt in his diet, so he asked artificial intelligence for advice. ChatGPT replied that sodium bromide could work as an alternative. This substance is indeed used in industry, for example to treat hot tub water, but it certainly does not belong in food. Unaware of this, the man ordered it and consumed it regularly. The chatbot provided no context about the risks, which led to serious problems.

Symptoms That Led to Hospitalization

After three months, alarming symptoms emerged. The man began suffering from paranoid delusions—he was convinced that his neighbor wanted to poison him. He also experienced auditory and visual hallucinations, excessive thirst, fatigue, insomnia, facial acne, and ataxia, meaning impaired coordination of movement. He attempted to escape from the hospital, which led to involuntary psychiatric hospitalization. Tests revealed hyperchloremia, meaning high blood chloride levels, and a negative anion gap, which are typical signs of bromide poisoning. His serum bromide level reached 1,700 mg/L, more than 200 times the normal level of under 10 mg/L in healthy people.

Bromide poisoning, known as bromism, was not uncommon in the past. In the early 20th century, it accounted for up to eight percent of psychiatric hospitalizations because bromide salts were included in over-the-counter medications. The situation changed in the 1970s and 1980s, when these substances began to be phased out. Today, bromism is rare, but this case has brought it back into focus. Bromide ions replace chloride in the body, affecting nerve function and leading to various psychiatric and neurological problems.

Treatment and Recovery

At the hospital, the man was given antipsychotic medication, which helped alleviate the hallucinations and paranoia. After he explained his dietary regimen, the doctors were able to make the correct diagnosis. Treatment lasted three weeks, during which his electrolytes were monitored and psychiatric care was provided. He was eventually discharged without serious lasting effects. OpenAI later emphasized that its chatbots are not intended to provide medical advice and cannot replace professionals.

This incident is one of many examples of artificial intelligence being misused for health-related decisions. Chatbots such as ChatGPT can produce inaccurate information without critical evaluation. In a published study in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine: Clinical Cases, doctors warn that no expert would recommend sodium bromide as a substitute for salt. The case serves as a reminder that when it comes to health, it is better to rely on real specialists rather than algorithms.

Source: sciencealert.com