A 27-year-old man who died of acute liver failure probably due to trichloroethylene abuse

Acute liver failure from abuse of volatile substances is not usual. We encountered a case involving a 27-year-old man with acute liver and kidney failure followed by severe brain edema, probably caused by abuse of glue containing trichloroethylene. The clinical course was observed from the first day, when serum transaminases were normal, until death on day 12. The trichloroethylene metabolite trichloroacetate was detected in his urine.