Absent substance use disorder and survival of extraordinarily high blood alcohol concentration

Abstract

Introduction

Intoxications with alcohol are very frequent in clinical psychiatry and may lead to death depending on (maximum) blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and accompanying factors as liver function, tolerance, comedication, etc. Death may occur due to ethanol-induced respiratory depression and/or aspiration of gastric content (due to an impaired gag reflex); thus, securing of the airway and ventilation are occasionally necessary.

Objectives/aims

To illustrate the broad range of clinical outcomes of alcohol intoxications and their adequate therapy.

Methods

We present the case of a 58-year female patient with depression who demonstrated a very high BAC of 8.68 g/L (representing the highest survived BAC in literature) due to ingestion of large amounts of alcohol with suicidal intent.

Results

Intubation and ventilation were lifesaving and the patient did not develop any physical or mental consequential damage. As the patient had not regularly used alcohol or any other psychotropic agent tolerance could be ruled out.

Conclusions

This case emphasizes the necessity of rapid securing of the airway in patients with alcohol intoxication and respiratory depression and, furthermore, illustrates the large inter-individual differences regarding ethanol susceptibility.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.