Clinical Chemistry
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Clinical Chemistry 37: 1453-1455, 1991;
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Clinical Chemistry, Vol 37, 1453-1455, Copyright © 1991 by American Association for Clinical Chemistry

2,3-Butanediol in plasma from an alcoholic mistakenly identified as ethylene glycol by gas-chromatographic analysis

AW Jones, L Nilsson, SA Gladh, K Karlsson and J Beck-Friis
Department of Alcohol Toxicology, University Hospital, Linkoping, Sweden.

2,3-Butanediol was mistakenly identified as ethylene glycol in plasma specimens from two alcoholic patients. The cyclic phenylboronate ester derivatives of 2,3-butanediol and ethylene glycol had the same retention time when OV-17 was used as the stationary phase for gas chromatography. This led to incorrect diagnosis of ethylene glycol poisoning and unnecessary invasive therapy. Plasma from two chronic alcoholics contained 2,3-butanediol at 3.5 and 3.4 mmol/L. The elimination half-life of 2,3-butanediol was 3.9 days when ethanol was administered during therapy for suspected ethylene glycol poisoning. Low concentrations of 2,3-butanediol might be present in blood of chronic alcoholics as a result of a novel pathway of intermediary metabolism associated with some forms of alcoholism. However, a more likely explanation for fairly high concentrations of 2,3-butanediol is enzymatic production from 2-butanone. This ketone occurs in denatured alcohol preparations often consumed by alcoholics in Sweden.


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A. F. Eder, C. M. McGrath, Y. G. Dowdy, J. E. Tomaszewski, F. M. Rosenberg, R. B. Wilson, B. A. Wolf, and L. M. Shaw
Ethylene glycol poisoning: toxicokinetic and analytical factors affecting laboratory diagnosis
Clin. Chem., January 1, 1998; 44(1): 168 - 177.
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Copyright © 1991 by the American Association for Clinical Chemistry.