J Appl Biomed 20:80-82, 2022 | DOI: 10.32725/jab.2022.007

Rare case of alimentary butylbiphenyl intoxication

Damián Šimčík¹, Viktor Voříšek², Martin Jakl^{3, *}

¹ University Hospital in Hradec Králové, Department of Emergency Medicine, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic

² University Hospital in Hradec Králové, Institute of Clinical Biochemistry and Diagnostics, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic

³ University of Defence, Faculty of Military Health Sciences, Department of Military Internal Medicine and Military Hygiene, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic

Background: Unexpected accidental intoxication by uncommon industrial substances is a rare, but challenging and perilous event. To our best knowledge, this is the first reported case of 3,4',5,6'-tetra-tert-butylbiphenyl-2,3'-diol intoxication.

Case report: A 20-year-old man was referred to the Department of Emergency Medicine after seven days of nausea and vomiting triggered by drinking mead. Very high doses of 3,4',5,6'-tetra-tert-butylbiphenyl-2,3'-diol were detected in mead, blood, and urine samples. To prove the intoxication, gas chromatography - ion trap was performed. Symptoms of intoxication persisted for two weeks without significant organ damage. The case report illustrates the need for a multistep approach, focused mainly on the analysis of possible sources of intoxication.

Keywords: Alimentary intoxication; Butylbiphenyl intoxication; Toxicology

Grants and funding:

The work was supported by the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic “Long Term Development Plan – Clinical Fields” of the Faculty of Military Health Sciences Hradec Králové, University of Defence, Czech Republic.

Conflicts of interest:

We confirm that there is no known conflict of interests associated with this publication. The manuscript contains no copyrighted material.

Received: October 28, 2021; Revised: May 11, 2022; Accepted: May 31, 2022; Prepublished online: June 10, 2022; Published: June 21, 2022  Show citation