Methyl alcohol poisoning: a manifestation of typical toxicity and outcome.

Methyl alcohol poisoning is an uncommon but an extremely hazardous poisoning. It most commonly occurs via oral ingestion of illicit or adulterated liquors or as ethanol substitution. The clinical diagnosis is made in the presence of high index of suspicion of toxic alcohol ingestion, early visual symptoms, unexplained anion gap metabolic acidosis and significant osmolar gap. Rapid recognisation, early and aggressive management have been emphasized to prevent hazardous outcome. We report a case of methyl alcohol poisoning manifestation of typical toxicity and outcome which revealed severe metabolic acidosis with high anion gap, blindness complicating bilateral optic atrophy and putaminal hemorrhagic necrosis. The patient improved with aggressive treatment including oral ethyl alcohol, but the occurrence of permanent blindness could not be prevented probably due to late presentation.