Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome - a retrospective study
Keywords:
alcohol withdrawal syndrome, alcohol, retrospective studyAbstract
Alcohol consumption in our country remains high,
with effects in different health areas, namely at the in-patient level. In this article we aimed to study the
natural history of alcohol withdrawal syndrome, the different therapeutic approaches and the reference
strategies after discharge. In order to do so, a
retrospective study was performed and 81 in-patients
with the diagnosis (primary or secondary) of alcohol
withdrawal syndrome were studied. The most frequent
complications encountered were rhabdomyolysis (51%)
and seizures (39%). The drugs most often used
therapeutically were neuroleptics and benzodiazepines.
After discharge, there was no patient referral or follow-up in half of the cases. We concluded that alcohol
withdrawal syndrome is a frequent diagnosis and there
is a need for the implementation of therapeutic
protocols and better follow-up after discharge, if we
want to change the natural history of this disease.
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