A 37-year-old man developed serious bleeding problems after eating rodent meat while on vacation in China. Doctors discovered he had been poisoned by brodifacoum, a powerful rat poison that prevents blood from clotting. The poison came from eating animals that had eaten poisoned rodents. High doses of vitamin K (a nutrient that helps blood clot) gradually fixed his bleeding problem. This case shows why doctors should ask detailed questions about what patients eat and where they travel when they see unexplained bleeding, especially when blood tests show vitamin K deficiency.

The Quick Take

  • What they studied: How a man developed life-threatening bleeding after eating exotic meat contaminated with rat poison
  • Who participated: One 37-year-old man who presented to the hospital with unexplained bleeding and had recently traveled to China
  • Key finding: Testing revealed brodifacoum (a super-strong rat poison) in his blood. This poison blocked his body’s ability to make blood clots by interfering with vitamin K. High-dose vitamin K treatment gradually restored his blood’s clotting ability over time.
  • What it means for you: If you develop unexplained bleeding, doctors should ask about your diet and travel history. Eating wild or exotic animals, especially in areas with heavy rodent control, may carry hidden poison risks. This is rare but serious.

The Research Details

This is a case report, which means doctors documented what happened to one patient in detail. The patient came to the hospital with bleeding from his mouth and blood in his urine that doctors couldn’t explain at first. Doctors ran blood tests that showed his blood couldn’t clot properly, similar to what happens when someone takes blood-thinning medications. They tested his blood for vitamin K levels and found them dangerously low. After giving him large doses of vitamin K through an IV (directly into his veins), his blood gradually started clotting normally again. Only after he improved did doctors test for rat poison and found high levels of brodifacoum in his blood.

The key to solving this medical mystery was asking the patient detailed questions about his recent activities. He mentioned eating exotic meat during a vacation to China two months earlier. This timing and his symptoms pointed doctors toward testing for rodent poison, which is not a common test doctors order.

Case reports are valuable because they describe unusual situations that doctors might not see often. They help alert the medical community to rare but serious problems and can guide how doctors approach similar patients in the future.

This case matters because superwarfarin rodenticides (super-strong rat poisons) are not something most doctors think about when patients have bleeding problems. Usually, doctors assume bleeding is caused by blood-thinning medications, liver disease, or inherited clotting disorders. By documenting this case, doctors can learn to ask about diet and travel history, especially when patients have eaten wild or exotic animals. This could help other patients get diagnosed faster.

This is a single case report, which is the lowest level of medical evidence. It describes what happened to one person, not many people. However, case reports are important for identifying rare problems and unusual causes of disease. The diagnosis was confirmed with specific blood tests for the poison (brodifacoum), which makes it reliable. The patient’s recovery after vitamin K treatment supports the diagnosis. Readers should understand this describes one unusual situation and cannot prove that exotic meat is commonly contaminated with rat poison.

What the Results Show

The patient arrived at the hospital with two weeks of bleeding from his mouth and two days of blood in his urine. Blood tests showed his prothrombin time (a measure of how fast blood clots) was severely prolonged, meaning his blood clotted much slower than normal. Four important clotting factors (II, VII, IX, and X) were extremely low. These findings suggested vitamin K deficiency, which is what happens when someone takes blood-thinning medications like warfarin.

Doctors gave the patient high-dose vitamin K through an IV every day. Over time, his blood tests gradually improved. His clotting ability returned to normal, and his bleeding stopped. This improvement confirmed that vitamin K deficiency was the problem.

The breakthrough came when doctors tested for rat poison. The test showed high levels of brodifacoum in his blood. Brodifacoum is a super-strong rat poison that works exactly like warfarin—it blocks vitamin K’s ability to help blood clot. The patient remembered eating rodent meat during a vacation to China about two months before his symptoms started. The poison likely came from eating animals that had eaten poisoned rodents.

The case demonstrates that superwarfarin rodenticides can cause serious, life-threatening bleeding in humans. The poison stayed in the patient’s system for at least two months before causing symptoms, showing that these poisons can accumulate in the body over time. The patient’s complete recovery with vitamin K treatment shows that this type of poisoning is treatable if caught and diagnosed.

Most cases of unexplained bleeding with vitamin K deficiency are caused by blood-thinning medications, liver disease, or malabsorption problems (when the body can’t absorb nutrients properly). Poisoning from superwarfarin rodenticides is extremely rare in developed countries but may be more common in areas where people eat wild or exotic animals. This case adds to a small number of documented cases of human poisoning from these rodenticides, usually linked to eating contaminated wild animals.

This is a single case report, so it cannot prove how common this problem is or whether it happens to many people. We don’t know if other people who ate the same meat got sick, or if this was an isolated incident. The case doesn’t tell us how much poison is dangerous or how long it takes to cause symptoms. We can’t generalize from one person to make broad recommendations about eating exotic meat. Additionally, the exact source of the poison (whether from the animal itself or from the environment) wasn’t definitively determined.

The Bottom Line

If you develop unexplained bleeding (especially from your mouth, nose, or in your urine), see a doctor immediately. Tell your doctor about any recent travel, especially to areas outside the United States, and any unusual foods you’ve eaten, particularly wild or exotic animals. If you eat game meat or exotic animals, try to source them from regulated suppliers rather than wild-caught sources. This is a rare risk, but awareness is important. (Confidence: Low, based on single case report)

People who travel internationally and eat local or exotic foods should be aware of this rare risk. Hunters and people who eat wild game should know about this possibility. Doctors should consider this diagnosis in patients with unexplained bleeding and vitamin K deficiency, especially with recent travel history. People in developed countries eating typical supermarket foods have virtually no risk.

In this case, symptoms appeared about two months after eating contaminated meat. Once treatment with vitamin K started, blood clotting gradually improved over days to weeks. Recovery was complete. If this happened to someone else, the timeline might be different depending on how much poison was consumed.

Want to Apply This Research?

  • If you’ve eaten exotic or wild meat, track any unusual symptoms for the next 3 months: bleeding from gums, nosebleeds, blood in urine, unusual bruising, or excessive bleeding from cuts. Note the date and type of meat consumed.
  • Log all unusual foods and travel destinations in your health app. If you eat wild game or exotic animals, photograph the source or note where it came from. This information could be crucial if you develop unexplained symptoms.
  • Set a reminder to review your food and travel history with your doctor at your next visit, especially if you’ve eaten wild or exotic animals. Keep a running list of any bleeding symptoms, no matter how minor, to share with healthcare providers.

This case report describes a rare and unusual situation involving one patient. It is not medical advice. If you experience unexplained bleeding, seek immediate medical attention from a healthcare provider. Do not attempt to self-diagnose or self-treat. While eating exotic or wild animals carries this theoretical risk, actual cases are extremely rare. Always consult with your doctor before making changes to your diet or if you have concerns about poisoning. This information is educational and should not replace professional medical evaluation.