TY - JOUR
T1 - Acute phenol poisoning
T2 - A life-threatening hazard of chronic pain relief
AU - Gupta, Sachin
AU - Ashrith, Guha
AU - Chandra, Divay
AU - Gupta, Aditya Kumar
AU - Finkel, Kewin W.
AU - Guntupalli, Jayarama S.
PY - 2008/3
Y1 - 2008/3
N2 - Background. Phenol (carbolic acid, a higher alcohol) has been used for local analgesic therapy for a long time. Several complications of phenol therapy can occur by exposure through inhalational, oral, and dermal routes. Renal and pulmonary toxicity arising from the exposure to injectable phenol, however, has only been reported in a few case reports. Case Presentation. A 50-year-old man inadvertently received 10 cc of 89% phenol injection. It resulted in the development of acute respiratory and renal failure requiring intubation and hemodialysis, respectively. He improved clinically with the recovery of renal function. However, the chest x-ray and CT scan showed persistent nodular pulmonary infiltrates which resolved by six months. Conclusion. We report here an unusual case of acute respiratory and acute renal failure following accidental overdose of phenol. The case highlights potential development of multiple organ failure with persistence of organ dysfunction, an unusual danger associated with the overdose of injectable phenol for neurolysis.
AB - Background. Phenol (carbolic acid, a higher alcohol) has been used for local analgesic therapy for a long time. Several complications of phenol therapy can occur by exposure through inhalational, oral, and dermal routes. Renal and pulmonary toxicity arising from the exposure to injectable phenol, however, has only been reported in a few case reports. Case Presentation. A 50-year-old man inadvertently received 10 cc of 89% phenol injection. It resulted in the development of acute respiratory and renal failure requiring intubation and hemodialysis, respectively. He improved clinically with the recovery of renal function. However, the chest x-ray and CT scan showed persistent nodular pulmonary infiltrates which resolved by six months. Conclusion. We report here an unusual case of acute respiratory and acute renal failure following accidental overdose of phenol. The case highlights potential development of multiple organ failure with persistence of organ dysfunction, an unusual danger associated with the overdose of injectable phenol for neurolysis.
KW - Acute
KW - Adult
KW - Kidney tubular necrosis
KW - Pain
KW - Phenol
KW - Respiratory distress syndrome
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U2 - 10.1080/15563650701438888
DO - 10.1080/15563650701438888
M3 - Article
C2 - 17852157
AN - SCOPUS:40849140798
SN - 1556-3650
VL - 46
SP - 250
EP - 253
JO - Clinical Toxicology
JF - Clinical Toxicology
IS - 3
ER -