Essential oil poisoning : N-acetylcysteine for eugenol-induced hepatic failure and analysis of a national database

We present a 15-month-old boy who developed fulminant hepatic failure after ingesting 10 ml of clove oil. After 24 h, the ALT level was in excess of 13,000 U/l, with blood urea and creatinine of 11.8 mmol and 134 micromol/l respectively. The hepatic impairment resolved after intravenous administrati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEuropean journal of pediatrics Vol. 164; no. 8; pp. 520 - 522
Main Authors JANES, Simon E. J, PRICE, Caroline S. G, THOMAS, David
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Heidelberg Springer 01.08.2005
Berlin Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Accidents, Home
Acetylcysteine - therapeutic use
Biological and medical sciences
Databases as Topic
Eugenol - poisoning
Female
Gastroenterology. Liver. Pancreas. Abdomen
General aspects
Humans
Infant
Liver Failure - chemically induced
Liver Failure - drug therapy
Liver. Biliary tract. Portal circulation. Exocrine pancreas
Male
Medical sciences
Oils, Volatile - poisoning
Other diseases. Semiology
Treatment Outcome
United Kingdom
Pediatrics
Thiol
Acetylcysteine
Hepatic disease
Antioxidant
Database, Essential oils, Hepatic failure
Mucolytic
Liver failure
Analysis
Database
Digestive diseases
Essential oil
Poisoning
Home accidents, Treatment
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Summary:We present a 15-month-old boy who developed fulminant hepatic failure after ingesting 10 ml of clove oil. After 24 h, the ALT level was in excess of 13,000 U/l, with blood urea and creatinine of 11.8 mmol and 134 micromol/l respectively. The hepatic impairment resolved after intravenous administration of N-acetylcysteine so that 6 h later, the ALT level was approximately 10,000 U/l. His liver synthetic function and clinical status improved over the next 4 days. This is the first such case report of its kind in Europe. Analysis of a national database revealed a 14-fold increase in home accidents related to aromatherapy from 1994-1999. Clove oil has important hepatotoxic effects. Recent growth in aromatherapy sales has been accompanied by an unfortunate increase in accidental poisoning from these products. Clove oil warrants special attention. Ingesting as little as 10 ml causes hepatotoxicity which can be treated with N-acetylcysteine.
ISSN:0340-6199
1432-1076
DOI:10.1007/s00431-005-1692-1