Blindness caused by methanol intoxication with alcoholic cirrhosis: A case report

Abstract

A 49-year-old man with alcoholic liver cirrhosis was admitted to our hospital because of bilateral blindness. Head magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed no abnormalities. He was treated with branched-chain amino acids for the suspicion of hepatic encephalopathy. However, his visual activity did not improve. Three days after admission, MRI revealed a high-intensity lesion in bilateral basal ganglia on diffusion-weighted imaging. He received high-dose vitamin B1 therapy, methylprednisolone (1000 mg/day for 3 days), and high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin therapy for the suspicion of metabolic encephalopathy. However, his visual activity showed no improvements. Given that he had previously taken methanol, his urine methanol level was measured. Subsequently, he was diagnosed with methanol intoxication due to high urine methanol levels. He was discharged from our hospital with no improvement in visual acuity.