Ingestion of hand sanitisers containing methanol
- PDF / 169,846 Bytes
- 1 Pages / 595.245 x 841.846 pts (A4) Page_size
- 47 Downloads / 171 Views
1
Ingestion of hand sanitisers containing methanol There have been several reports of serious adverse events following the ingestion of methanol-containing hand sanitisers in the USA, according to study results reported in a recent Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, resulting in death or visual impairment for some patients. Although the alcohol content of hand sanitisers should only be ethanol or isopropanol, to 15 July 2020 the FDA had identified 67 products which contained methanol, which are being recalled; a consumer alert was issued on 19 June. At the end of June, the CDC had received 15 reports of methanol poisoning from public health partners in Arizona or New Mexico. Patients were 21–65 (mean 43) years of age; 13 were male. All patients had swallowed alcohol-based hand sanitiser products, and were hospitalised. The earliest available blood methanol concentrations were between 21 mg/dL and >500 mg/dL; all patients had metabolic acidosis. Six patients developed seizures; of the four patients who died, three patients had a history of seizures when hospitalised. All patients received fomepizole treatment, and 9 patients received haemodialysis or continuous renal replacement therapy. At 8 July, four patients remained hospitalised, four patients had been discharged without sequelae, and three patients had been discharged with new visual impairment. "This investigation highlights the serious adverse health events, including death, that can occur after ingesting alcohol-based hand sanitizer products containing methanol", note the authors, and "safety messaging to avoid ingestion of any alcohol-based hand sanitizer product should continue". Yip L, et al. Serious Adverse Health Events, Including Death, Associated with Ingesting Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers Containing Methanol - Arizona and New Mexico, May-June 2020. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 69: 1070-1073, No. 32, 14 Aug 2020. Available from: URL: http://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6932e1 803498611
0114-9954/20/1819-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG. All rights reserved
Reactions 29 Aug 2020 No. 1819
Data Loading...
