[Fatal ethanol poisoning of the alcohol abusers]

The examined cohort consisted of 137 alcohol abusers, who died suddenly because of the acute ethanol poisoning. Among them there were 109 men and 28 women from 25 to 73 (mean 46.3 +/- 9.22) years old. Autopsy examinations performed in Department of the Forensic Medicine revealed no traumas or diseases explaining the sudden death, but showed the increased blood ethanol concentration from 3.6 to 8.8 (mean 4.67 +/- 0.74) g/l and urine ethanol concentration from 2.0 to 7.3 (mean 4.88 +/- 0.87) g/l. In the period 1996-1999 in Gdańsk Province there was twofold decrease in the number of sudden death caused by the acute ethanol poisoning in the alcohol abusers.