Doctors save man with vodka drip
Australian doctors have kept an Italian tourist alive by feeding him vodka through a drip for three days, medical staff in Queensland say.

The 24-year-old man, who had swallowed a poison in an apparent suicide attempt, was treated while in a coma.

Doctors set up the drip after running out of medicinal alcohol, used as an antidote to the poison.

Medical staff said the patient had made a full recovery, and the hangover had worn off by the time he woke up.

He had been taken to hospital in the northern Queensland town of Mackay after swallowing ethylene glycol - a poison contained in anti-freeze.

"The patient was drip-fed about three standard drinks an hour for three days in the intensive care unit," Dr Todd Fraser said in a statement.

"Fortunately for him he was in a medically induced coma for a good portion of that. By the time he woke up I think his hangover would have well and truly gone."

He spent 20 days in hospital before being discharged.

Antifreeze has Methanol in it
Vodka - Ethanol.  The liver prefers Ethanol to Methanol and ignores it.  Processing only the Eth.  Thus you dont die

Symptoms

Symptoms of ethylene glycol poisoning usually follow a three-step progression, although poisoned individuals will not always develop each stage or follow a specific time frame.[5] Stage 1 consists of neurological symptoms including victims appearing to be intoxicated, exhibiting symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, slurred speech, and confusion. Over time, the body metabolizes ethylene glycol into other toxins, first to glycolaldehyde, which is then oxidized to glycolic acid, glyoxylic acid, and finally oxalic acid. Stage 2 is a result of accumulation of these metabolites and consists of tachycardia, hypertension, hyperventilation, and metabolic acidosis. Stage 3 of ethylene glycol poisoning is the result of kidney injury, leading to acute kidney failure.[7] Oxalic acid reacts with calcium and forms calcium oxalate crystals in the kidney.

[edit] Treatment

Initial treatment consists of stabilizing the patient and gastric decontamination. As ethylene glycol is rapidly absorbed, gastric decontamination needs to be performed soon after ingestion to be of benefit. Gastric lavage or nasogastric aspiration of gastric contents are the most common methods employed in ethylene glycol poisoning. Ipecac-induced vomiting or activated charcoal (charcoal does not adsorb glycols) are not recommended. [5]

The antidotes for ethylene glycol poisoning are ethanol or fomepizole; antidotal treatment forms the mainstay of management following ingestion. Ethanol (usually given IV as a 5 or 10% solution in 5% dextrose and water, but, also sometimes given in the form of a strong spirit such as whisky, vodka or gin) acts by competing with ethylene glycol for the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase thus limiting the formation of toxic metabolites. Fomepizole acts by inhibiting alcohol dehydrogenase, thus blocking the formation of the toxic metabolites.[8]

In addition to antidotes, hemodialysis can also be used to enhance the removal of unmetabolized ethylene glycol, as well as its metabolites from the body. Hemodialysis also has the added benefit of correcting other metabolic derangements or supporting deteriorating kidney function caused by ethylene glycol ingestion. Often both antidotal treatment and hemodialysis are used together in the treatment of poisoning.