Recently, the Intensive Care and Toxicology Department at the People’s Hospital 115 received a 63-year-old man suffering from life-threatening methanol poisoning after consuming alcohol of unknown origin. The patient was immediately given antidotes, underwent dialysis to remove toxins and received other supportive treatments. After three days of intensive care, his condition improved, he regained consciousness, and was discharged from the hospital.
Earlier, a severe alcohol poisoning incident in Hai Phong City resulted in one death and six critically ill patients being transferred to the Poison Control Center at Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi. Test results showed methanol concentrations in the patients’ blood ranging from 44.6 to 256.9 mg/dL. Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen, Director of the Poison Control Center at Bach Mai Hospital, confirmed that the six patients were poisoned after consuming counterfeit alcohol mixed with industrial methanol.
According to statistics from hospitals across Ho Chi Minh City, the period before and during the Lunar New Year holiday typically sees a sharp increase in alcohol-related cases.
The majority of cases involve acute pancreatitis among individuals with heavy or long-term alcohol consumption, with some progressing to severe alcohol poisoning and multi-organ damage.
Dr. Nguyen Huu Tin, Specialist Level I at the Intensive Care and Toxicology Department of the People’s Hospital 115, noted that most methanol poisoning cases treated at the hospital are linked to fake alcohol, unlabeled products, alcohol of unknown origin, or homemade liquor. These products are often adulterated with industrial methanol to boost alcohol content and reduce production costs.
According to Associate Professor Dr. Pham Khanh Phong Lan, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety, analyses from alcohol poisoning cases indicate that alcohol mixed with industrial methanol is the leading cause, accounting for nearly 50 percent of alcohol-related deaths, followed by alcohol infused with animals or plants. Alarmingly, methanol-related alcohol poisoning is on the rise, while hospitals currently lack adequate antidotes.
