Toxic Alcohol Poisoning: Emergency Department Recognition and Management in Patients With Complex Health and Housing Needs.

Authors

Robert Asselta

Published in

Journal of emergency nursing. Sep 29, 2026. Epub Sep 29, 2026.

Abstract

The found down inebriated patient is a frequent presentation in the emergency department. Although standard ethanol intoxication may be the primary clinical suspicion, a critical subset of these cases involves ingestion of a toxic alcohol-specifically, methanol, ethylene glycol, or isopropyl alcohol. These high-risk ingestions are disproportionately prevalent among patient populations facing severe social inequities, including those experiencing housing instability and behavioral health crises. In these groups, toxic alcohols are sometimes used as ethanol substitutes or for intentional self-harm. Late presentations to the emergency department are common among these populations, drastically increasing the likelihood of poor outcomes. These patients present a profound diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Consequently, emergency nurses must maintain a high clinical suspicion to ensure prompt diagnosis, resuscitation, and targeted therapies, including antidotes. Emergency nurses serve as an important safeguard against assuming ethanol intoxication in at-risk populations. This paper equips them to identify and advocate for alternative diagnoses beyond routine ethanol ingestion. This article also delineates the patient care pathway-encompassing clinical presentation, diagnostic strategies, emergency department management, and psychosocial support-for these underserved patients from triage to admission.

PMID:
42814071
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 30 Sep 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.