A 59-year-old woman was admitted to hospital with alcohol and acetone intoxication. The next morning she was found unconscious, and there was an empty hand disinfectant bottle on her bedside cupboard. The substance contained 45% isopropanol (also known as isopropyl alcohol). The serum osmolality and the difference between the measured and the calculated osmolality (the osmolar ‘gap’) were elevated, but there was no elevation of the anion gap and no acidosis. These findings indicated isopropanol intoxication. This is usually treated with supportive therapy; in the case of isopropanol concentrations > 4000 mg/l, severe depression of the central nervous system or hypotension, haemodialysis is indicated. The prognosis is reasonably good, provided that adequate and timely treatment is instigated.