A case of thinner sniffing: Part 2. Urinary excretion of cresols and methanol after inhalation of toluene and methanol.

In the previous letter, we reported a case of recurrent sniffing of toluene and methanol, and discussed the relationship between neuro-psychological symptoms and urinary findings1). As the patient has neither complained of visual disturbance nor been diagnosed with optic nerve alteration, which is well-known sequela of methanol poisoning, we were interested in the urinary excretion of methanol and in the metabolism of toluene in this patient. In the present study, we analyzed urinary metabolites of toluene : hippurate and cresol isomers2,3) and methanol.