Ethylene glycol toxicity

Excerpt

Ethylene glycol is a colorless and odorless dihydroxyl alcohol with a myriad of uses, most commonly found in antifreeze. Syrupy in consistency and slightly sweet in taste, it is sometimes ingested as an intoxicant or in cases of attempted suicide. Acute toxicity initially leads to central nervous system depression, including stupor or coma as well as cardiopulmonary compromise and eventually renal failure. The diagnosis is generally made based on the patient history and findings of serum anion gap metabolic acidosis with calcium oxalate crystals in the urine [1]. Characteristic findings may also be detected when the patient undergoes routine brain imaging. In comatose patients in particular, radiologists may encounter a case of toxicity before it is clinically suspected. In this article we present imaging findings in four patients with ethylene glycol poisoning. …