Journal of the Korean Society of Emergency Medicine  2001;12(4):551-559

Two Cases of Hydrocarbon(Gasoline) Intoxication Following Ingestion and Inhalation.

Kyung Won LEE 1 ; Jeong Heon LEE

Affiliations

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Keywords

Hydrocarbon(Gasoline) intoxication

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

Korean

Abstract

Hydrocarbon poisoning is one of the most common poisonings accounting for about 3% of all poisonings in the USA. Hydrocarbons are a broad group of organic compounds consisting of hydrogen and carbon atoms. Many household products contain hydrocarbons. The primary complication of hydrocarbon poisoning results from involvement of the respiratory and the central nervous systems. Other reported complications include cardiac arrthymia, hepatocellular damage, renal failure, peripheral neuropathy, intravascular hemolysis, cutaneous injury, sudden death, and so on. We experienced two cases of acute poisoning caused by hydrocarbons: one was a 64-year-old man with cardiac arrhythmia after ingestion of gasoline and the other was a 61-year-old man with aspiration pneumonia after inhalation of combustion gas of gasoline. We report these cases and present a literature review.