SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT OF PHENOL POISONING WITH CHARCOAL HEMOPERFUSION

A 50-y-old Caucasian female inadvertantly received 30 mi of 89% phenol (26.9 g, 0.44 mg/kg bw). At 23 min post-injection the patient was unr esponsive and in shock. By 4 h post-injection she required large doses of vasopressors. At 4.5 h, charcoal hemoperfusion (CHP) was begun and she received that for 6 h and 20 min. Her clinical status improved du ring the CHP and she made a complete recovery. Phenol levels drawn pri or to and after the procedure correlated her recovery with the improvi ng phenol levels. CHP appears to have efficacy in severe acute phenol intoxication.