[Naloxone in ethanol overdose after alcoholization of hepatic metastasis]

The authors report a case of ethanol-induced coma treated successfully with naloxone, in a subject undergoing liver metastasis alcoholization. A dose of ethanol 95 degrees (150 ml) was injected intraoperatively into the hepatic tumor with ultrasound monitoring, in a 55-year old woman which underwent mastectomy two years ago for breast cancer. At the end of operation that went on for 128 minutes, the patient maintained during surgery with standard NLA II anaesthesia did not awake. Toxicologic testing of blood showed an alcohol concentration of 1.9 g/l. Intra-venous naloxone 2 mg was given in boluses of 0.4 mg, through a time of 30 minutes. The patient became progressively responsive with complete recovery 20 minutes later. Since fentanyl doses administered during general anaesthesia were very low, the authors believe that the postoperative coma was due to ethanol overdose. They suggest naloxone as effective treatment to reverse the depressant effects of ethanol following ultrasonically guided alcohol injection therapy.