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The 24-year-old Italian, who was not further identified, was brought to Mackay Base Hospital in northeastern Queensland state and was diagnosed as having ingested a large quantity of ethylene glycol, a common
antifreeze ingredient that can cause renal failure.
Pure alcohol is often given in treating such cases because it can inhibit the toxic effects of ethylene glycol.
Mackay Base Hospital Dr. Pascal Gelperowicz said the man was given pharmaceutical-grade alcohol when he arrived, but that the hospital's supplies soon ran out.
"We quickly used all the available vials of 100 percent alcohol and decided the next best way to get alcohol into the man's system was by feeding him spirits through a nasogastric tube," Dr. Gelperowicz said in a statement.
"The patient was drip-fed about three standard drinks an hour for three days in the intensive care unit," he said. "The hospital's administrators were also very understanding when we explained our reasons for buying a case of vodka."
The patient, who was believed to have ingested the poison in an attempt at self-harm, made a successful recovery. The incident occurred about two months ago, though the hospital just released information on the case.
[Associated Press]
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