Toxic Alcohol Poisoning Flashcards
What are toxic alcohols?
Alcohol not intended for ingestion
Examples of toxic alcohols
Methanol-containing consumer products (like windshield washer fluid), ethylene glycol (car antifreeze), isopropanol (rubbing alcohol)
Clinical manifestations of toxic alcohol poisoning are usually seen where?
CNS
Inebriation with a toxic alcohol poisoning is dependent on what?
Dose and molecular weight
What happens if a patient doesn’t LOOK inebriated
Just because they don’t look like it, doesn’t meant they didn’t ingest anything
Other clinical manifestation of toxic alcohol poisoning (not CNS effects)
Metabolic acidosis
How is metabolic acidosis caused in toxic alcohol poisoning?
The toxic alcohols are metabolized to toxic organic acids which causes a high anion gap metabolic acidosis
Methanol is metabolized to what?
Formic acid
Ethylene glycol is metabolized to what?
Glycolic acid
Isopropanol is metabolized to what?
Acetone; it causes ketosis without acidosis
Toxic alcohol-specific clinical manifestations: methanol
Retinal toxicity: blurry vision to complete blindness, can be asymmetric
Neurotoxicity: basal ganglia lesions bilaterally which can lead to Parkinsonism
AKI
Pancreatitis
Toxic alcohol-specific clinical manifestations: ethylene glycol
Nephrotoxicity
How can ethylene glycol cause nephrotoxicity?
Oxalic acid + calcium = calcium oxalate monohydrate crystals → deposit in renal tubules → precipitation can cause hypocalcemia
What to monitor in ethylene glycol toxicity
Calcium levels
Toxic alcohol-specific clinical manifestations: isopropanol
Hemorrhagic gastritis
Toxic alcohol poisoning diagnostic tests: serum concentrations to look for/order
Methanol, formate, ethylene glycol, isopropanol
Caveat about the toxic alcohol serum concentrations
The results may not come back in a timely manner, so you have to base the diagnosis on clinical history and other lab values that have been obtained
What levels can be helpful if it’s been a while since the patient ingested the toxic alcohol?
Formate
How to handle toxic alcohol samples
The sample tubes should be airtight to prevent evaporation (isopropanol and methanol specifically)
Toxic concentration of methanol and ethylene glycol
> 25mg/dl