User:Mr. Ibrahem/Alcohol withdrawal syndrome
| Alcohol withdrawal syndrome | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Drinking alcohol | |
| Specialty | Critical care medicine, psychiatry |
| Symptoms | Anxiety, shakiness, sweating, vomiting, fast heart rate, mild fever[1] |
| Complications | Hallucinations, delirium tremens, seizures[1] |
| Usual onset | Six hours following the last drink[2] |
| Duration | Up to a week[2] |
| Causes | Reduction in alcohol after a period of excessive use[1] |
| Diagnostic method | Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol (CIWA-Ar)[3] |
| Treatment | Benzodiazepines, thiamine[2] |
| Frequency | ~50% of people with alcoholism upon reducing use[3] |
Alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) is a set of symptoms that can occur following a reduction in alcohol use after a period of excessive use.[1] Symptoms typically include anxiety, shakiness, sweating, vomiting, fast heart rate, and a mild fever.[1] More severe symptoms may include seizures, seeing or hearing things that others do not, and delirium tremens (DTs).[1] Symptoms typically begin around six hours following the last drink, are worst at 24 to 72 hours, and improve by seven days.[2][3]
Alcohol withdrawal may occur in those who are alcohol dependent.[1] This may occur following a planned or unplanned decrease in alcohol intake.[1] The underlying mechanism involves a decreased responsiveness of GABA receptors in the brain.[3] The withdrawal process is typically followed using the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol scale (CIWA-Ar).[3]
The typical treatment of alcohol withdrawal is with benzodiazepines such as chlordiazepoxide or diazepam.[2] Often the amounts given are based on a person's symptoms.[2] Thiamine is recommended routinely.[2] Electrolyte problems and low blood sugar should also be treated.[2] Early treatment improves outcomes.[2]
In the Western world about 15% of people have problems with alcoholism at some point in time.[3] About half of people with alcoholism will develop withdrawal symptoms upon reducing their use, with four percent developing severe symptoms.[3] Among those with severe symptoms up to 15% die.[2] Symptoms of alcohol withdrawal have been described at least as early as 400 BC by Hippocrates.[4][5] It is not believed to have become a widespread problem until the 1700s.[5]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h National Clinical Guideline Centre (2010). "2 Acute Alcohol Withdrawal". Alcohol Use Disorders: Diagnosis and Clinical Management of Alcohol-Related Physical Complications (No. 100 ed.). London: Royal College of Physicians (UK). Archived from the original on 31 January 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, SA; Wilson, MP; Nordstrom, K (September 2016). "Psychiatric Emergencies for Clinicians: Emergency Department Management of Alcohol Withdrawal". The Journal of Emergency Medicine. 51 (3): 269–73. doi:10.1016/j.jemermed.2016.03.027. PMID 27319379.
- ^ a b c d e f g Schuckit, MA (27 November 2014). "Recognition and management of withdrawal delirium (delirium tremens)". The New England Journal of Medicine. 371 (22): 2109–13. doi:10.1056/NEJMra1407298. PMID 25427113. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
- ^ Martin, Scott C. (2014). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Alcohol: Social, Cultural, and Historical Perspectives. SAGE Publications. p. Alcohol Withdrawal Scale. ISBN 9781483374383. Archived from the original on 2016-10-22.
- ^ a b Kissin, Benjamin; Begleiter, Henri (2013). The Biology of Alcoholism: Volume 3: Clinical Pathology. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 192. ISBN 9781468429374. Archived from the original on 2016-10-22.