Clinical Information

Per US Food and Drug Administration recommendations, orthopedic surgeons should consider measuring and following serial cobalt concentrations in EDTA anticoagulated whole blood in symptomatic patients with metal-on-metal hip implants as part of their overall clinical evaluation. However, a recent publication(1) has shown synovial fluid measurements were superior to whole blood and serum Cobalt concentrations in predicting local tissue destruction in failed hip arthroplasty constructs.

Prosthetic devices produced by Depuy Company, Dow Corning, Howmedica, LCS, PCA, Osteonics, Richards Company, Tricon, and Whiteside are typically made of chromium, cobalt, and molybdenum. This list of products is incomplete, and these products' compositions change occasionally; see each prostheses' product information for composition details.

Cobalt is a naturally occurring, hard, gray element widely distributed in the environment. It is used to produce alloys in the manufacturing of aircraft engines, cutting tools, and some artificial hip and knee joint prosthesis devices.

Cobalt is an essential cofactor for vitamin B12, which is necessary for neurological function, brain function, and the formation of blood. For most people, food is the largest source of cobalt intake. The greatest environmental exposure occurs in mining processes, cemented tungsten-carbide industry, cobalt powder industry, and alloy production industry.

Cobalt is not highly toxic; however large doses may produce adverse clinical manifestations. Acute symptoms include pulmonary edema, allergy, nausea, vomiting, hemorrhage, and kidney failure. Chronic exposure to cobalt-containing hard metal (dust or fume) can result in a serious lung disease called hard metal lung disease, which is a type of pneumoconiosis (lung fibrosis). Furthermore, inhalation of cobalt particles can cause respiratory sensitization, asthma, shortness of breath, and decreased pulmonary function. Even though the primary route of occupational exposure to cobalt is the respiratory tract, skin contact is also important because dermal exposures to hard metal and cobalt salts can result in significant systemic uptake. Sustained exposures can cause skin sensitization, which may result in eruptions of contact dermatitis. In cases of suspected toxicity, blood, serum, or urine concentrations of cobalt can be checked. Vitamin B12 should be used to assess nutritional status.