STUDY OF ALTERATION IN COMMON LABORATORY PARAMETERS IN METHANOL POISONING CASES: LESSON LEARNED FROM THE HOOCH TRAGEDY IN AHMEDABAD, GUJARAT

Abstract

Introduction: Measurement of methanol in blood is important to confirm the diagnosis of methanol intoxication and can be valuable in assessing the response to treatment. However, blood methanol is measured using gas chromatography in specialty laboratories, and the measurement can take many hours to a few days to complete. Hence we tried to find surrogate makers of acute methanol poisoning that are easily available in most of the settings and any physician can treat such cases in tragic situations like that happened at this study centre.

Method: Retrospective cased based study of cases affected by hooch tragedy.

Results: RBS means, WBC, serum amylase, MCV value increased with increasing serum methanol level. However, they were not significantly related to serum methanol level(p values were 0.078, 0.125, 0.224, 0.08 respectively.) Mean of arterial blood bicarbonate levels was 12.3±7.3 mmol/L, mean of arterial pH was 7.17±0.22 and their levels were significantly related to serum methanol levels (p values 0.0231 and 0.012 respectively).

Conclusion: Among all the routinely done biochemical parameters, arterial bicarbonate level and pH significantly correlated with serum methanol level. And when methanol level is not available arterial pH and bicarbonate level can guide the therapy.