Background: Diethylene glycol (DEG) poisoning is life-threatening. The clinical characteristics of patients with liver disease exposed to intravenous DEG have not been clarified.
Methods: Sixty-four patients with moderate to severe liver disease exposed to DEG in China in 2006 were investigated.
Results: The daily exposure total dose was 3-6 mL of a 30% (v/v) mixture. Acute renal failure (ARF), the predominant clinical manifestation, occurred in 23.4% (15/64) of these patients. The average time to onset was 6.53 +/- 3.48 days after exposure to DEG. ARF could be differentiated from the hepatorenal syndrome that usually occurs in patients with severe liver disease. The occurrence of ARF was significantly related to pre-existing renal function abnormality, and was not influenced by the allele distribution of DEG-metabolizing enzyme. The liver function profiles did not significantly change after DEG exposure.
Conclusions: ARF was the main clinical manifestation in this intravenous DEG poisoning accident. The influence of underlying liver disease on DEG poisoning or that of DEG exposure on liver disease has many implications.