Thermoregulatory dysfunction secondary to acute ethanol poisoning.

Acute ethanol poisoning followed by drugs of abuse and psychiatric disorders is the most common cause of hypothermia. An attempt to evaluate the ethanol poisoning degree considering body temperature, serum osmolality, osmolal gap and ethanol concentration measurements was the aim of study. The lowest body temperature measured using infrared tympanic thermometer--First Temp Genius, Sherwood Medical was noted in the severely poisoned patients and was well correlated with the serum osmolality and with the osmolal gap.