Published online Jul 6, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i19.6571
Peer-review started: October 29, 2021
First decision: March 23, 2022
Revised: April 4, 2022
Accepted: May 5, 2022
Article in press: May 5, 2022
Published online: July 6, 2022
Acute methanol poisoning (AMP) is a systemic disease that mainly affects the central nervous system and is characterized by ocular damage and metabolic acidosis. If appropriate treatments are inadequate or delayed, the mortality can exceed 40%. As the most serious complication, cerebral hemorrhage is rare with reported prevalence of 7%-19%.
A 62-year-old man drank liquor mixed with 45% methanol and 35% alcohol. His vision blurred 10 h later and he fell into coma in another 9 h. Serum toxicological tests were performed immediately, and continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) was carried out as the lactic acid exceeded 15 mmol/L and blood pH was 6.78. In addition, the toxicological report revealed 1300.5 μg/mL of methanol in serum and 1500.2 μg/mL in urine. After 59 h of CRRT, the methanol level decreased to 126.0 μg/mL in serum and 151.0 μg/mL in urine. However, the patient was still unconscious and his pupillary light reflex was slow. Computed tomography showed hemorrhage in the left putamen. After 16 d of life support treatment, putamen hemorrhage developed into diffuse symmetric intracerebral hemorrhage. In the end, his family gave up and the patient was discharged, and died in a local hospital.
Cerebral hemorrhage requires constant vigilance during the full course of treatment for severe cases of AMP.
Core Tip: We describe a case of a 62-year-old man who drank liquor mixed with 45% methanol and 35% alcohol, and the serum methanol level was almost 2.6 times that of the recommended indication for hemodialysis even at 24 h after drinking. It was encouraging that his vital signs tended to be stable and methanol level dropped sharply at 48 h after hemodialysis and necessary life support treatment. Unfortunately, putamen hemorrhage occurred 16 d after the treatments and progressed to bilateral symmetric diffuse cerebral hemorrhage. His family gave up further treatment, and the patient died eventually.