[Oral intoxication with xylene--a case report].

A case of a suicidal oral exposure to xylene has been described. A 33 year-old female ingested 300-500 ml of xylene 2.5 hours before admission to the hospital. Hypotonia, metabolic acidosis, diarrhea and moderate, transient dysphagia were observed. Concentrations of xylene, toluene and ethylbenzene in blood at admission were 11.7; 2.9 and 0.18 mg/l respectively and 1.1; 0.33 and 0 mg/l after 24 hours after therapy.

CONCLUSIONS

The course of acute xylene intoxication in the described case was relatively uneventful despite high blood concentration of xylene. Further study is necessary to establish the potentially lethal blood concentration of xylene.