ABSTRACT
Probably the most frequent cause of a patient presenting to an emergency department with an altered mental status involves the acute ingestion of ethyl alcohol (1,2). Ethanol is the most widely abused “drug” and is a com ponent of overdose in up to 70% of cases (3-6). In addi tion, physicians frequently encounter sequelae from the multisystem dysfunction caused by the chronic ingestion of ethanol (7). Therefore, the physician must be aware of the effects expected from both the acute and chronic ingestion of ethyl alcohol or its substitutes (2,4). Substi tutes consist of methanol, ethylene glycol, and isopropyl alcohol (Table 36-1) (1).
