Poisoning with methanol and other non-beverage alcohols - an analysis of the issue based on hospitalizations in department of toxicology

SOSNOWSKA, Weronika, BRZOZOWSKA, Aleksandra, TCHÓRZ, Michał, RADONIEWICZ–TCHÓRZ, Anna, TKACZYK, Rafał, TOMCZYK, Jakub, ŚWIĄTEK, Gabriela, TRUSZ, Kornelia and WANAT, Iwona. Poisoning with methanol and other non-beverage alcohols - an analysis of the issue based on hospitalizations in department of toxicology. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2023;45(1):11-21. eISSN 2391-8306. http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/JEHS.2023.45.01.001 https://apcz.umk.pl/JEHS/article/view/45308 https://zenodo.org/record/8265939 The journal has had 40 points in Ministry of Education and Science of Poland parametric evaluation. Annex to the announcement of the Minister of Education and Science of 17.07.2023 No. 32318. Has a Journal's Unique Identifier: 201159. Scientific disciplines assigned: Physical Culture Sciences (Field of Medical sciences and health sciences); Health Sciences (Field of Medical Sciences and Health Sciences). Punkty Ministerialne z 2019 - aktualny rok 40 punktów. Załącznik do komunikatu Ministra Edukacji i Nauki z dnia 17.07.2023 Lp. 32318. Posiada Unikatowy Identyfikator Czasopisma: 201159. Przypisane dyscypliny naukowe: Nauki o kulturze fizycznej (Dziedzina nauk medycznych i nauk o zdrowiu); Nauki o zdrowiu (Dziedzina nauk medycznych i nauk o zdrowiu). © The Authors 2023; This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author (s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non commercial license Share alike. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper. Received: 21.07.2023. Revised:10.08.2023. Accepted: 18.08.2023. Published: 21.08.2023. Poisoning with methanol and other non-beverage alcohols - an analysis of the issue based on hospitalizations in department of toxicology Weronika Sosnowska https://orcid.org/0009-0003-4608-5521 weronika.sosnowska07@gmail.com Stefan Wyszyński Regional Specialist Hospital, Lublin, Poland. Aleksandra Brzozowska https://orcid.org/0009-0008-7687-1140 brzozola@onet.eu Stefan Wyszyński Regional Specialist Hospital, Lublin, Poland. Michał Tchórz https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1308-099X tchorz.michal@gmail.com Toxicology Clinic, Medical University, Lublin, Poland. Anna Radoniewicz–Tchórz https://orcid.org/0009-0009-9055-8895 anna.radoniewicz@gmail.com Stefan Wyszyński Regional Specialist Hospital, Lublin, Poland. Rafał Tkaczyk https://orcid.org/0009-0001-0542-3374 rafaltkaczyk@wp.pl District Specialist Hospital in Stalowa Wola, Poland. Jakub Tomczyk https://orcid.org/0009-0008-0586-5798 jjtomczyk15@gmail.com Stefan Wyszyński Regional Specialist Hospital, Lublin, Poland. Gabriela Świątek https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8537-6249 gabriela.swiatek21@gmail.com District Specialist Hospital in Stalowa Wola, Poland. Kornelia Trusz https://orcid.org/0009-0002-6291-6447 kornelia.trusz@gmail.com University Clinical Hospital named after Fryderyk Chopin in Rzeszów Iwona Wanat https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7125-3611 iw.wanat@gmail.com Clinical Provincial Hospital No. 2 St. Queen Jadwiga in Rzeszów ABSTRACT Introduction: Poisonings with non-beverage alcohols remain a significant problem in contemporary toxicology. Due to the large quantity and severe course of intoxications with methanol, the authors of this study focused primarily on poisonings with this substance. Methanol is widely used in industry. Its toxicity is attributed to its metabolites - formaldehyde and formic acid. Poisonings with methanol often lead to the patient's death due to a wide range of complications associated with progressive metabolic acidosis. Material and Methods: The study is of a retrospective nature. It involved the analysis of medical records of patients admitted to the department of toxicology in 2022 after the consumption of non-beverage alcohols, with a particular focus on methanol. Data on the number of individuals admitted due to non-beverage alcohol intoxication between 2018 and 2022 was also analyzed. Results: Over the last 5 years (2018-2022), 36 individuals were hospitalized in the Clinical Toxicological-Cardiological Department due to non-beverage alcohol poisoning, with 16 (44.4%) cases involving methanol. In the year 2022, the department admitted 10 individuals aged 18 to 68, and 5 (50%) of them consumed methanol. Among the hospitalized, 90% were male, and 60% came from rural areas. Deliberate intoxications accounted for 70% of the cases. Four hospitalizations (40%) resulted in patient death. All deaths were associated with methanol intoxication. Conclusions: Non-beverage alcohol is often used by people with alcohol dependence syndrome. Among non-beverage alcohols, patients most often reached for methanol. Its consumption is associated with a high mortality rate and should be taken very seriously and treated immediately. Keywords: methanol; poisoning; intoxicatio