The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released an official health advisory after receiving reports of patients in New Mexico and Arizona who experienced serious adverse health effects after swallowing methanol-based hand sanitizer (MBHS). CDC and America’s Poison Centers conducted enhanced surveillance using the National Poison Data System (NPDS) for all calls to poison centers (PCs) that reported exposure to MBHS.

We queried NPDS for human exposure cases to MBHS between June 22, 2020 and September 14, 2020. We conducted descriptive statistics to analyze by daily case volume, age group, sex, caller site, management site, exposure route, medical outcome, reason for exposure, clinical effects, and treatment.

Forty-nine states, Washington, DC, and the US Virgin Islands reported at least 1 exposure, with a total of 2164 cases. Adults aged 20-59 represented the largest proportion of cases (44.8%). Most calls (94.2%) were from a non-health care facility and were managed on site (82.4%). The exposure route was primarily dermal (88.8%) followed by ingestion (12.0%).

Quick response and action for exposures to MBHS containing products is essential to ensure public health safety. PCs remain a valuable resource for providing guidance and advice for toxic exposures.

Alcohol-based hand sanitizers containing ethanol or isopropanol are being used in order to prevent person-to-person transmission during the COVID-19. Early signs and symptoms of this ingestion include nausea, vomiting, headache, abdominal pain, blurred vision, loss of coordination, and decreased level of consciousness. After hand sanitizer ingestion we have to suspect about methanol poisoning, monitoring the start of anion-gap metabolic acidosis, seizures, and blindness is essential. Treatment includes supportive care, acidosis correction, and the administration of an alcohol dehydrogenase inhibitor. In servere cases hemodialysis may be required.

To present a case of an 29-year-old woman who was taken to the emergency department after voluntary ingestion of alcohol-based hand sanitizer in a suicide attempt. To describe the most common side effects of hand sanitizer ingestion and the literature review.

Clinical case presentation and literature review of similar cases.

A 29-year-old woman, with diagnosis of borderline personality disorder and previous suicide attempts was taken to the emergency department after 3 hours of voluntary ingestion of an unknown quantity of alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Initial laboratory findings showed laboratory a blood methanol concentration of 66 mg/dL, with an anion gap of 30 mEq/L, arterial blood pH of 7.2, serum bicarbonate concentration of 12 mEq/L. Patient complained of abdominal pain and nervoussness.

Most common signs and symptoms of alcohol-based hand sanitizer ingestion include nausea, vomiting, headache, abdominal pain, blurred vision, loss of coordination, and decreased level of consciousness. Treatment includes supportive care, acidosis correction, the administration of an alcohol dehydrogenase inhibitor and sometimes may be required.

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