Risk factors associated with mortality in patients with methanol poisoning: a retrospective study

Aim: Methanol poisoning (MP) is an essential medical problem worldwide, and despite advances in diagnosis and treatment, the mortality rate in these cases is high. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical and laboratory factors to determine in-hospital mortality in patients with MP. Methods: This single-center, retrospective, observational study was conducted with adult 65 MP cases visiting the emergency department (ED) of a tertiary training and research hospital between January 01, 2017, and February 01, 2022. Data were statistically compared between survivors and non-survivors. Results: The in-hospital mortality rate was 41.5%. The rate of cases with respiratory distress, low Glasgow coma scale (GCS) (≤8), and delayed arrival to the hospital (>24 hours) was higher in the group of non-survivors compared to the group of survivors. Non-survivors had a higher anion gap (30.5 mEq/L vs. 25.5mEq/L), base excess (-25.0 mmol/L vs. -18.6 mmol/L), lactate (10.2 mmol/L vs. 2.2 mmol/L) levels, and lower pH (6.76 vs. 7.14) and bicarbonate (6.3 mmol/L vs. 10.3 mmol/L) levels than survivors (p