DOCTORS used a case of vodka to help save an Italian tourist being treated for poisoning in a Queensland hospital.And hospital authorities later proved very understanding about the booze bill.
The 24-year-old man was brought to Mackay Base Hospital, in north Queensland, two months ago after he had ingested a large amount of the poisonous substance ethylene glycol, found in antifreeze, which can cause renal failure and is often fatal.
In details just released by the hospital, Dr Pascal Gelperowicz, who led the man's treatment with Dr Todd Fraser, said the man was unconscious on arrival and his treatment was started immediately with pharmaceutical-grade alcohol, which works as an antidote to the poison.
But the hospital's alcohol supplies were soon exhausted.
"We quickly used all the available vials of 100 per cent alcohol and decided the next best way to get alcohol into the man's system was by feeding him spirits through a naso-gastric tube," Dr Gelperowicz said.
Dr Fraser said while the treatment was unconventional, it was very successful, with the patient having now made a full recovery.
"The patient was drip-fed about three standard drinks an hour for three days in the intensive care unit," he said.
"The hospital's administrators were also very understanding when we explained our reasons for buying a case of vodka."
It's believed the man was poisoned when attempting self-harm.