title: Kinetics of ethanol and methanol in alcoholics during detoxification.
abstract: We investigated the kinetics of ethanol and methanol in 20 dependent alcoholics (16 men and four women) during the first 24 hr after admission to hospital for detoxification. The blood-ethanol concentration (BEC) on admission ranged from 238 to 489 mg/dl (mean 386 mg/dl). The mean rate of ethanol disappearance from the blood was 23 mg/dl/hr with a spread from 13 to 36 mg/dl/hr. The concentrations of methanol in blood at the start of detoxification ranged from 0.16 to 2.8 mg/dl (mean 1.15 mg/dl) and these levels remained more or less unchanged until the BEC had dropped below 30 mg/dl. The concentrations of ethanol and methanol in blood at the start of detoxification were not correlated (r = 0.032, P > 0.05). The results of this study do not support the notion that the metabolism of methanol in chronic alcoholics proceeds independently of the prevailing BEC. We found a three-fold difference in the rate of disappearance of ethanol from blood in alcohol-dependent subjects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Toxicology, National Institute of Forensic Medicine, University Hospital, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: A W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sternebring
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000628:therapy*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000432:Methanol / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol; D000432:Methanol