Alcohol and Delirium Tremens

Burns, Wm. C.

doi:10.1136/bmj.1.2826.399-a

Cited by 1 publication

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“…However, historically, DT has been considered as a consequence of alcoholism, and so all patients with DT are still primarily treated at the Psychiatric Clinic of the Clinical Center ‘Kragujevac’. In spite of that, mortality during the 10 years of our study was 7.37% which is similar to that recorded in other studies [ 2 , 3 , 6 , 9 - 11 , 24 ]. The lethal outcome was not registered during the last 3 years (2009–2011) for patients treated for DT in the Psychiatric Clinic.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Risk factors for lethal outcome in patients with delirium tremens - psychiatrist's perspective: a nested case-control study

et al. 2013

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BackgroundThe aim was to identify potential risk factors for lethal outcome in patients with delirium tremens (DT) treated in the psychiatric setting.MethodsIn a nested case-control study, a total of 190 medical records of patients with DT hospitalized at the Psychiatric Clinic in Serbia between 2002 and 2011 were reviewed and analyzed. The characteristics of patients who died (cases) were compared with those who survived (controls). For each case, two controls (matched for age, gender, and year of hospitalization) were randomly chosen.ResultsSignificant differences between cases and controls were found for serum potassium levels (p < 0.001), the number of hospitalizations (p < 0.001), and duration of hospitalization (p < 0.001). A significant association with lethal outcome was found for serum potassium levels even in the normal range (adjusted odds ratio 40.52; 95% CI 1.20, >1,000.00; p = 0.004).ConclusionsEven though the number and duration of psychiatric hospitalizations were identified as factors determining survival after admission for DT, only serum potassium levels were found to be significant. Patients with an increase in potassium (or absence of hypokalemia) may require more intensive treatment. Monitoring of serum levels of potassium is important not only as an indicator for replacement but also as an indicator of maladaptation.

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