[Acute ethyl alcohol intoxication]

Excessive intake of ethyl alcohol leads to acute intoxication and necessitates the same management as other forms of intoxication. Diagnosis is based on clinical examination, medical history and course. Determination of alcohol level in the expired air is of limited interest. If low or absent, it should direct clinical investigation toward a disorder having similar symptoms; if high, it does not necessarily explain the clinical picture. The severity of the intoxication must always be assessed carefully. Severity is linked either to a complication of acute alcohol intoxication (coma, inhalation, pneumopathy), or to an associated disorder, observed in 50% of the patients (cranial trauma, drug intoxication). Means of treatment and patient management are simple and well established.