Clinical predictors for delirium tremens in patients with alcohol withdrawal seizures

The American Journal of Emergency Medicine
Dong Wook KimKwang Ki Kim

Abstract

Delirium tremens (DT) is the severest form of alcohol withdrawal syndrome, frequently after alcohol withdrawal seizures. Delirium tremens occurs in a small proportion of patients with alcohol withdrawal seizures; nevertheless, early identification of high-risk patients is important for intensive preventive management of unexpected episodes due to agitation and its associated increased mortality. However, there are limited studies on clinical predictors of the development of DT in patients with alcohol withdrawal seizures. Patients who visited the emergency department with acute seizures were included in the study when alcohol withdrawal was the only or the strongest precipitating factor for seizures. All patients were carefully observed for at least 48 hours in the intensive care unit after the initial assessment to closely monitor vital signs and development of DT. Clinical and laboratory findings were analyzed for predicting the development of DT. Of the 97 patients (82 males; mean age, 48.6 ± 13.3 years) with alcohol withdrawal seizures, 34 (35.1%) developed DT. Low platelet count, high blood level of homocysteine, and low blood level of pyridoxine were associated with the subsequent development of DT. Low platelet count and...Continue Reading

References

Jul 11, 2001·Mayo Clinic Proceedings·T M JaegerV S Pankratz
Apr 22, 2004·Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research·Jaana LatvalaOnni Niemelä
Jan 18, 2005·Epilepsy & Behavior : E&B·Karl O NakkenLinda A Corey
Mar 17, 2005·Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research·Stefan BleichJohannes Kornhuber
Jul 26, 2005·Pharmacological Research : the Official Journal of the Italian Pharmacological Society·Antonio SiniscalchiGiovambattista De Sarro
Jul 22, 2008·Academic Emergency Medicine : Official Journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine·Ayesha KhanScott Compton
Mar 19, 2009·Alcohol and Alcoholism : International Journal of the Medical Council on Alcoholism·Ulf BerggrenJan Balldin
Apr 15, 2009·Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology·Glen P DavisBarbara Coffey
Apr 5, 2011·European Journal of Neurology : the Official Journal of the European Federation of Neurological Societies·C K HansenJ A Edlow
May 20, 2011·Alcohol and Alcoholism : International Journal of the Medical Council on Alcoholism·Florian EyerThomas Zilker
Nov 27, 2014·The New England Journal of Medicine·Marc A Schuckit

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Sep 3, 2016·Acta Neurologica Scandinavica·S JesseA C Ludolph
Aug 14, 2019·Alcohol and Alcoholism : International Journal of the Medical Council on Alcoholism·Andrzej SilczukMichał Lew-Starowicz
Sep 1, 2018·JAMA : the Journal of the American Medical Association·Evan WoodJan Klimas
Feb 6, 2021·Brain Communications·Alice LaniepceAnne-Lise Pitel
Nov 22, 2020·La Revue de médecine interne·N ThiercelinJ Azuar
Jul 22, 2021·Addiction·Ed Day, Chris Daly
Aug 31, 2021·Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova·S I Utkin

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation is a common arrhythmia that is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality, particularly due to stroke and thromboembolism. Here is the latest research.

Arrhythmia

Arrhythmias are abnormalities in heart rhythms, which can be either too fast or too slow. They can result from abnormalities of the initiation of an impulse or impulse conduction or a combination of both. Here is the latest research on arrhythmias.

Related Papers

Psychiatric Services : a Journal of the American Psychiatric Association
T Palmstierna
Alcohol and Alcoholism : International Journal of the Medical Council on Alcoholism
Ulf BerggrenJan Balldin
MMW Fortschritte der Medizin
Anil Batra, Friederike D Wernz
© 2022 Meta ULC. All rights reserved