PATHOLOGICAL FINDINGS IN DIETHYLENE GLYCO L POISONING

We are reporting the necropsy findings of 7 patients poisoned with die thylene glycol-contaminated propolis (a rubbery substance produced by bees from vegetal resins). Besides de well-known features of hydropic necrosis of centrolobular areas in the liver and renal tubules we foun d acute pancreatitis with diffuse enzymatic fat necrosis which in two of the cases was considered the secondary cause of death, and acute de myelinating lesions in the central and peripheral nervous system. Six out of the 7 cases showed glomerular PAS-positive arteriolar hyalinosi s at the vascular pole, in two of them widely disseminated. Differing from the findings reported in ethylene glycol poisoning we could not f ind calcium oxalate crystals in any of the cases. The pancreatic, cent ral and peripheral nervous system lesions as well as the glomerular ar teriolar hyalinosis have not been previously described in the literatu re in relation with diethylene glycol poisoning.