Toxic effect of methanol: radiation and pathomorphological parallels

INTRODUCTION: Acute chemical poisoning with alcohol-containing products represents a pressing and socially significant health issue.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze changes in the brain associated methanol poisoning and lung complications using to CT and traditional X-ray examination, observe how these changed evolve over time, and compare them with the pathomorphological findings.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between 2017 and 2024, 80 patients aged 23 to 77 years (mean age: 44.2 years; men – 68; women – 12), were admitted to the Center for Acute Poisoning at the State Budgetary Institution «Research Institute of Emergency Medicine named after. I. I. Dzhanelidze» with signs of acute methanol poisoning. Of these, 45 patients died, and 35 were discharged. CT imaging of the brain was not performed in 13 deceased patients due to their extremely severe condition, as death occurrent within 2–3 hours to 24 hours of admission. CT was not conducted due to their stable condition, where no indications were present.

RESULTS: CT was performed in 50 patients (in 62.5% of cases). Of these, 22 patients (44%) exhibited normal brain structures and parameters with no pathological changes; while 28 patients (56%) demonstrated pathological changes. These included diffuse edema in 17 (60.7%) and hemorrhagic complications in 9 (32.14%).

CONCLUSION: In this study, diffuse brain edema, various types of hemorrhagic changes, and combination of hemorrhagic complications with diffuse edema. These radiological changes corresponded with the pathological findings observed during the forensic medical examination (FME). The data obtained can contribute to the refinement of diagnostic algorithms and the enhancement of medical care for methanol poisoning.

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