LLMHigh
ChatGPT Reportedly Suggests Sodium Bromide as Chloride Substitute, Leading to Bromism and Hospitalization
- Occurred
- Aug 5, 2025
- Published
- Nov 10, 2025
- Source
- AI Incident Database
Summary
A published medical case report describes a 60-year-old man hospitalized for three weeks with severe bromide toxicity (bromism) after replacing dietary sodium chloride with sodium bromide purchased online. The patient reported making this substitution following consultation with ChatGPT, which allegedly suggested bromide as a chloride substitute without safety warnings. The harm included psychosis, electrolyte imbalances, dermatologic changes, and micronutrient deficiencies.
Developers
- OpenAI
Deployers
- OpenAI
Harmed parties
- Unnamed 60-year-old male patient with bromism
- ChatGPT users
Tags
- peer-reviewed
Classification
Category confidence: 90%
Severity confidence: 85%
Rationale: ChatGPT provided dangerous medical advice leading to hospitalization and severe toxicity.
Classifier: Qwen/Qwen3.5-35B-A3B-FP8