Rapid availability of ethylene glycol test results with enzymatic assay

Ethylene glycol poisoning causes metabolic acidosis, organ injury, and death. Ethylene glycol testing is unavailable in many areas. Our laboratory uses an automated glycerol dehydrogenase enzymatic assay to screen for ethylene glycol. We sought to determine how often ethylene glycol results were available within 12 h of the first dose of fomepizole.

Records from a single poison center were reviewed from December 2016 to December 2019. Cases were identified by searching for cases that received fomepizole. Outcomes included whether results were available within 12 h, and the turnaround time from time of laboratory order to result.

Of the 125 cases of suspected toxic alcohol poisoning identified, 73 had screening for ethylene glycol by enzymatic assay. Results were available within 12 h of the initial fomepizole dose in 58 (79%) cases with a median turnaround time of 391 min.

We have demonstrated clinically acceptable turnaround times using an automated screening ethylene glycol assay. The major limitations include lack of approval for this test at this time, the use of voluntarily reported poison center data, and lack of assessment of patient outcomes.

Enzymatic screening for ethylene glycol yielded results within 12 h in 79% of cases.