The stages of ethylene glycol poisoning are:
- alcohol drunk-like state
- metabolic acidosis with high anion gap
- acute renal failure
Treatment is fomepizole, an inhibitor of alcohol dehydrogenase.
The old-fashioned treatment failing this is to give lots of ethanol which competes with the ethylene glycol for liver metabolism and prevents glyclic acid being produced.
Haemodialysis is a final option.
