This paper is only available as a PDF. To read, Please Download here.
Abstract
A 2-year-old male was found unresponsive approximately 40 min after oral exposure
to butyrolactone (Figure 1), a solvent used to remove methacrylate glues. The patient
was apneic, bradycardic, and flaccid. He was given atropine and orally intubated,
and his heart rate increased and blood pressure remained normal. He remained unresponsive
to deep painful stimuli. Six hours after admission, the patient was alert and breathing
spontaneously. He was extubated and discharged home the following day. Previous cases
of serious toxicity following oral exposure to butyrolactone reported in Denmark have
shown a similar propensity to bradycardia and coma. The use of butyrolactone is likely
to increase, paralleling the popularity of acrylate adhesives. Emergency physicians
should be aware of its potential for life-threatening toxicity.
Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of Emergency MedicineAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Criteria for hospitalizing children who have ingested products containing hydrocarbons.JAMA. 1981; 246: 840-843
- Hydrocarbon ingestion in children: a six year retrospective study.JACEP. 1976; 5: 771-775
- Management of hydrocarbon ingestions.Top Emerg Med. 1979; 1: 97-110
- The management of petroleum distillate hydrocarbon ingestions.Clin Toxicol Rev. 1978; 1: 1-2
- The ineffectiveness of mechanically induced vomiting.J Pediatr. 1965; 66: 952
- Medical toxicology: diagnosis and treatment.in: Elsevier, New York1988: 1512
- Clinical toxicology of commercial products.5th ed. Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore1984
- Clinical management of poisoning and drug overdose.in: 2nd ed. W.B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia1990: 1557
- Bevidstløshed efter indtagelse af neglelakfjerner.Ugeskr Laeger. 1992; 154: 3064
- Rumack B Spoerke D Poisindex® Information System. Micromedex Inc, Denver1993
Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
January 19,
1996
Received in revised form:
January 3,
1996
Received:
November 21,
1994
Footnotes
☆Toxicology is coordinated by Kenneth Kulig, md, of Denver, Colorado.
Identification
Copyright
© 1996 Published by Elsevier Inc.
