Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, methanol-containing beverages’ consumption has risen because people mistakenly believed that alcohol might protect them against the virus. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and predisposing factors of brain lesions in patients with methanol toxicity and its outcome. A total of 516 patients with confirmed methanol poisoning were enrolled in this retrospective study, of which 40 patients underwent spiral brain computed tomography (CT) scan. The presence of unilateral or bilateral brain necrosis was significantly higher in the non-survival group (p = 0.001). Also, intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and brain edema were prevalent among patients that subsequently died (p = 0.004 and p = 0.002, respectively). Lower Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) was related to a higher mortality rate (p = 0.001). The mortality rate in chronic alcohol consumption was lower than the patients who drank alcohol for the first time (p = 0.014). In conclusion, increasing the number of methanol poisoning and its associated mortality and morbidity should be considered a threat during the COVID-19 pandemic.

摘要

在 COVID-19 大流行期间，含甲醇饮料的消费量有所增加，因为人们错误地认为酒精可以保护他们免受病毒侵害。本研究旨在评估甲醇中毒患者脑损伤的患病率和易感因素及其结局。这项回顾性研究共招募了 516 名确诊甲醇中毒的患者，其中 40 名患者接受了螺旋脑计算机断层扫描 (CT) 扫描。在非存活组中，单侧或双侧脑坏死的存在显着更高（p  = 0.001）。此外，脑出血 (ICH) 和脑水肿在随后死亡的患者中很普遍（p  = 0.004 和p = 0.002，分别）。较低的格拉斯哥昏迷量表 (GCS) 与较高的死亡率有关 ( p  = 0.001)。长期饮酒的死亡率低于首次饮酒的患者（p  = 0.014）。总之，在 COVID-19 大流行期间，甲醇中毒次数的增加及其相关的死亡率和发病率应被视为一种威胁。