Ethyl alcohol ingestion in children. A 15-year review.

Information on ethyl alcohol intoxication in children is scarce. A retrospective study was conducted by chart reviews of 27 patients with documented ethanol ingestion admitted to the Alberta Children's Hospital, Foothills Provincial Hospital, Calgary General Hospital or Holy Cross Hospital from 1969 to 1984. Six patients had hypoglycemia and one experienced a convulsion. The rate of alcohol elimination was found to be greater than 6.2 mM/L/hr (28.4 mg/dl/hr), approximately twice the rate seen in adults. Six patients had hypokalemia, and two had severe metabolic acidosis.