ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Published Online: 1 January 1985
Page Count: 4

Methanol Intoxication: Distribution in Postmortem Tissues and Fluids Including Vitreous Humor
Donoghue, ER
Deputy chief medical examiner, Office of the Medical Examiner of Cook County, Cook County Institute of Forensic Medicine, IL

Schaffer, MI
Chief toxicologist, Office of the Medical Examiner of Cook County, Cook County Institute of Forensic Medicine, IL

Wu Chen, NB
Assistant chief toxicologist, Office of the Medical Examiner of Cook County, Cook County Institute of Forensic Medicine, IL

(Received 14 March 1984; accepted 7 May 1984)

Abstract

A 44-year-old man was found unconscious beneath an elevated rapid transit right-of-way. On admission to the emergency room, the patient was comatose in metabolic acidosis with high anion and osmolal gaps. The serum methanol was 583 mg/dL. The serum ethanol and ethylene glycol were negative. The patient was treated with ethanol, bicarbonate, and hemodialysis. He expired 40 h after admission. The postmortem methanol concentrations in body fluids were as follows: bile 175 mg/dL, vitreous humor 173 mg/dL, and blood 142 mg/dL. Urine was not available for analysis. Postmortem methanol concentrations in body tissues are given in decreasing order: brain 159 mg/100 g, kidney 130 mg/100 g, lung 127 mg/100 g, spleen 125 mg/100 g, skeletal muscle 112 mg/100 g, pancreas 109 mg/100 g, liver 107 mg/100 g, and heart 93 mg/100 g. The total amount of methanol in the gastric contents was 73 mg. Methanol determinations were performed on a Hewlett-Packard 5840A gas chromatograph with flame ionization detection using a glass column packed with 0.2% Carbowax 1500 on Carbopack C. The internal standard used was n-propyl alcohol.

Keywords:
toxicology, methanol, vitreous humor, metabolic acidosis, anion gap, osmolal gap, gas chromatography

Paper ID: JFS10983J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS10983J
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