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Methanol half-life during ethanol administration: implications for management of methanol poisoning
W Palatnick1, L W Redman, D S Sitar
1Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Manitoba, Brandon, Canada.
Study Objective:
To determine the half-life of methanol in methanol-poisoned patients who are treated with ethanol but not with hemodialysis.
Design:
Case series.
Setting:
University Hospital, University of Manitoba.
Participants:
Three methanol-poisoned patients treated with ethanol but not with hemodialysis and three similar patients identified by a literature review.
Results:
Plots of terminal concentration versus time data were inconsistent with zero-order kinetics and were adequately explained by an apparent first-order process. The median half-life of methanol in these patients was 43.1 hours, with a range of 30.3 to 52.0 hours.
Conclusion:
Because of the significantly increased risk of toxicity and complications during ethanol monotherapy, we suggest that hemodialysis be considered for methanol-poisoned patients who are treated with ethanol infusion.