Key investigations

The key investigations for essential oil poisoning are:

• chest X-ray for patients with suspected aspiration
• liver biochemistry for patients who have ingested clove or pennyroyal oil—test on admission and 24 hours after ingestion (serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) concentration rises slowly after an acute ingestion of clove or pennyroyal oil and may remain within the normal reference range for up to 24 hours).