Antidote ethanol is the basic treatment in ethylene glycol (EG) poisoning. EG ingestion is occasionally combined with ethanol. The objective was to evaluate the course of intoxications due to concurrent EG and ethanol ingestion. Data about clinical course of EG poisonings with coincidental ethanol ingestion reported to the Czech Toxicological Information Centre in the years 2000-2002 were analysed, and they were completed by data from discharge records from the hospitals and by toxicological analyses. We evaluated the clinical course of seven persons with EG and ethanol ingestion. There were six males (age 28-52 years) and one female (age 17 years). Ingested dose of EG was known in six men (mean value 517 ml, range 100-1000 ml), two of them had EG blood level measured (1.09 and 5.00 g/l) and their ethanol in blood on admission was 0.55 and 2.46% per hundred. In a woman EG blood level on admission (2.10 g/l) confirmed the ingested lethal dose. Four patients developed metabolic acidosis. Four patients had substantially increased laboratory markers of nephrotoxicity. Four patients had also mildly increased markers of hepatotoxicity. All patients were treated with the antidote ethanol. Because of high-ingested dose six patients received haemodialysis. All seven patients from our study survived. The course and outcome of EG intoxication in this group of patients was very probably positively influenced by concurrent ingestion of EG and ethanol.

Toxicological Information Centre Department of Occupational Medicine Charles University and General Teaching Hospital Prague Czech Republic