Overview
- A 60-year-old Washington man substituted sodium chloride with sodium bromide for three months following ChatGPT guidance, leading to bromide accumulation and acute psychosis
- Physicians diagnosed bromism through lab tests and treated the patient with intravenous fluids, electrolytes, and antipsychotics, resulting in his recovery and discharge after a three-week hospital stay
- The detailed case report published Aug. 5 in Annals of Internal Medicine: Clinical Cases represents the first documented instance of AI-fueled poisoning and exposes gaps in AI health advice
- Bromism was once a leading cause of early 20th-century psychiatric admissions in the US but has become exceedingly rare since bromide was phased out of over-the-counter medicines by the 1980s
- Medical experts, regulators, and AI developers are now reassessing safeguards and urging users to seek professional input rather than relying solely on AI for medical recommendations