Mr. L.Q.D (61 years old, residing in Me Linh, Hanoi) regularly drinks alcohol but does not eat properly. His family said that Mr. D has a habit of buying and using alcohol of unknown origin. On the morning of February 9, 2025, he was discovered in a state of impaired consciousness, unresponsive to calls and was quickly taken to the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases for emergency treatment.
At the Emergency Department, the patient was admitted in a deep coma, with a strong smell of alcohol on his breath, dark skin, loss of bowel and bladder control, and severe metabolic disorders. Doctors performed endotracheal intubation, mechanical ventilation, and continuous blood filtration for emergency treatment. The results of the brain scan showed signs of brain atrophy due to aging. After in-depth consultation, the patient was diagnosed with methanol poisoning with a poor prognosis and high risk of death. According to his medical history, Mr. D had had high blood pressure for about 10 years, diabetes for 5-7 years, and had been a heavy drinker for a long time.
Dr. Than Manh Hung - Deputy Head of the Emergency Department, Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases - said: "After a day of intensive treatment, the patient has temporarily stabilized but still needs to continue using a ventilator and blood filtration to balance acid-base caused by metabolic disorders caused by alcohol."
Experts warn that alcohol abuse can cause many serious health consequences, including: physical weakness, memory loss, hepatitis, cirrhosis, acute pancreatitis, increased risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, erectile dysfunction, osteoporosis and many other diseases. In particular, pregnant women who are addicted to alcohol have a higher risk of giving birth to children with birth defects than normal.
Dr. Than Manh Hung recommends: “People need to choose alcohol with a clear origin, do not use alcohol floating on the market to avoid the risk of poisoning. In addition, each person needs to control the amount of alcohol consumed according to their physical condition. Drinking too much alcohol, especially over a long period of time, can cause nerve damage and severe metabolic disorders. When entering the body, alcohol is metabolized by the liver but can produce toxic substances, increasing the risk of poisoning, even death.”
