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Doc raided cache for liquor drip
Rum treatment ... Dr Todd Fraser.
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A Queensland doctor raided his own liquor cabinet to save the life of a patient poisoned after ingesting anti-freeze.
Todd Fraser, the director of the intensive care unit at Mackay Base Hospital, recently sent an expense form to Queensland Health claiming the cost of bottles of whisky, vodka, scotch and Bacardi rum.
And while Queensland Health's bean counters may raise a collective eyebrow when they see the bill, it was a crucial expense two months ago when Dr Fraser and Pascal Gelperowicz saved the life of the 24-year-old man.
The man could have died without immediate treatment to combat a potentially deadly dose of ethylene glycol.
A component of anti-freeze, ethylene glycol is a powerful toxin that can cause renal failure and death if not treated quickly.
And the best treatment? High-percentage alcohol, which inhibits the liver's ability to break down the poison and create potentially deadly compounds.
"We used scotch, some Jameson's Whisky, a bottle of Bacardi and some vodka," Dr Fraser said.
"It really didn't matter what sort of alcohol we used - the reason why we chose them is because they are fairly high, percentagewise, in alcohol so we didn't have to administer as much in terms of volume to get the desired effect.
"I've used it [alcohol] before in a similar poisoning and so has my colleague Dr Gelperowicz - the thing that was unusual for us this time is that we ran intravenous alcohol very quickly."
At the time of the emergency, Dr Fraser was relaxing at home, but followed his Hippocratic Oath to the letter when he sacrificed his liquor cabinet after receiving an urgent call from the hospital.
"When the problem arose I was at home and I had to come in with three bottles of my finest liquor in my hand," Dr Fraser said.
"That managed to get us through until the morning when a bottle shop opened."
The next day, Dr Fraser said his team churned through another three bottles of scotch to treat the man.
"In reality the doses were not that high ... we were keeping him at a level between two and three times the legal limit to drive, so equivalent to someone who went out to a party on a Saturday night - except he kept on going for three days."
Dr Fraser said he was eagerly awaiting a phone call from the finance department questioning his expense claim.
"I'm sure it is going to look very interesting on the hospital's pharmacy budget," he said.
As the patient was in an induced coma during the procedure and was kept sedated for several days after the alcohol treatment finished, he awoke without the killer hangover that would normally come after a three-day drinking session.
And while Dr Fraser has so far not had any inquiries from other patients for the same treatment, he expected to be fielding those requests any day now.
"With all the publicity I am sure that I will," he said.
Rum treatment ... Dr Todd Fraser.
Latest related coverage
A Queensland doctor raided his own liquor cabinet to save the life of a patient poisoned after ingesting anti-freeze.
Todd Fraser, the director of the intensive care unit at Mackay Base Hospital, recently sent an expense form to Queensland Health claiming the cost of bottles of whisky, vodka, scotch and Bacardi rum.
And while Queensland Health's bean counters may raise a collective eyebrow when they see the bill, it was a crucial expense two months ago when Dr Fraser and Pascal Gelperowicz saved the life of the 24-year-old man.
The man could have died without immediate treatment to combat a potentially deadly dose of ethylene glycol.
A component of anti-freeze, ethylene glycol is a powerful toxin that can cause renal failure and death if not treated quickly.
And the best treatment? High-percentage alcohol, which inhibits the liver's ability to break down the poison and create potentially deadly compounds.
"We used scotch, some Jameson's Whisky, a bottle of Bacardi and some vodka," Dr Fraser said.
"It really didn't matter what sort of alcohol we used - the reason why we chose them is because they are fairly high, percentagewise, in alcohol so we didn't have to administer as much in terms of volume to get the desired effect.
"I've used it [alcohol] before in a similar poisoning and so has my colleague Dr Gelperowicz - the thing that was unusual for us this time is that we ran intravenous alcohol very quickly."
At the time of the emergency, Dr Fraser was relaxing at home, but followed his Hippocratic Oath to the letter when he sacrificed his liquor cabinet after receiving an urgent call from the hospital.
"When the problem arose I was at home and I had to come in with three bottles of my finest liquor in my hand," Dr Fraser said.
"That managed to get us through until the morning when a bottle shop opened."
The next day, Dr Fraser said his team churned through another three bottles of scotch to treat the man.
"In reality the doses were not that high ... we were keeping him at a level between two and three times the legal limit to drive, so equivalent to someone who went out to a party on a Saturday night - except he kept on going for three days."
Dr Fraser said he was eagerly awaiting a phone call from the finance department questioning his expense claim.
"I'm sure it is going to look very interesting on the hospital's pharmacy budget," he said.
As the patient was in an induced coma during the procedure and was kept sedated for several days after the alcohol treatment finished, he awoke without the killer hangover that would normally come after a three-day drinking session.
And while Dr Fraser has so far not had any inquiries from other patients for the same treatment, he expected to be fielding those requests any day now.
"With all the publicity I am sure that I will," he said.
