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La Clinica Terapeutica May 2022Alcohol is a legal and yet detrimental psychoactive substance, capable of establishing addiction and impacting the physical, mental, social, and economic health of...
Alcohol is a legal and yet detrimental psychoactive substance, capable of establishing addiction and impacting the physical, mental, social, and economic health of people. Alcohol intake causes a large variety of tissue damages severely impacting the nervous system, digestive and cardiovascular systems and causing oral cavity, oropharyngeal, hypopharyngeal, esophageal, colon-rectal, laryngeal, liver and intrahepatic bile duct, and breast cancers. Alcohol can also play a role in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus, cardiomyopathy and hemorrhagic strokes. When drunk during pregnancy it is proved to be responsible for serious damage to fetuses causing a wide range of pathological conditions from miscarriage to Fetal Alcoholic Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Acute ethanol intoxication happens when the amount of alcohol consumed is greater than the disposal capacity of the liver, causing an accumulation of its metabolites displayed by initial dysphoria and disinhibition. Nausea, vomiting, memory loss could happen. Although, it can lead to more serious conditions like impaired speaking, impaired coordination, unstable gait, nystagmus, stupor, or coma. Respiratory depression and death could also happen in such cases. Unfortunately, diagnosis of acute alcohol intoxication is difficult because most of the drinkers deny or minimize their assumption. It is dramatically important to assess when the last intake happened to avoid withdrawal syndrome. Alcohol acute intoxication can be considered a serious harm to health and a relevant issue for healthcare provid-ers working in emergency rooms. Differential diagnosis is crucial to avoid serious outcomes. There is no consensus about therapies for acute intoxication, but supportive and symptomatic treatments were proved effective. The repercussions of alcohol misuse over drinkers' social, familiar, economical and working life enhance the importance of a multidisciplinary approach in such cases.
Topics: Acute Disease; Alcohol Drinking; Alcoholic Intoxication; Alcoholism; Ethanol; Humans; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome
PubMed: 35612344
DOI: 10.7417/CT.2022.2432 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Jan 2016Alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine and spirits are widely consumed around the world. However, alcohol and its metabolite acetaldehyde are toxic and harmful to human... (Review)
Review
Alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine and spirits are widely consumed around the world. However, alcohol and its metabolite acetaldehyde are toxic and harmful to human beings. Chronic alcohol use disorder or occasional binge drinking can cause a wide range of health problems, such as hangover, liver damage and cancer. Some natural products such as traditional herbs, fruits, and vegetables might be potential dietary supplements or medicinal products for the prevention and treatment of the problems caused by excessive alcohol consumption. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of effective natural products for the prevention and treatment of hangover and alcohol use disorder, and special emphasis is paid to the possible functional component(s) and related mechanism(s) of action.
Topics: Alcoholic Intoxication; Antidotes; Beer; Biological Products; Ethanol; Fruit; Humans; Plants, Medicinal; Vegetables; Wine
PubMed: 26751438
DOI: 10.3390/molecules21010064 -
European Review For Medical and... Sep 2020Acute alcohol intoxication is actually a common admission cause in the Emergency Department and represents an increasing public health burden, in particular among... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE
Acute alcohol intoxication is actually a common admission cause in the Emergency Department and represents an increasing public health burden, in particular among adolescents. It involves possible and significant illness and injury, which can quickly get worse and may need to be managed in the emergency room.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We conducted a narrative review of the literature regarding the effectiveness of first aid role of the Emergency Department setting.
RESULTS
This review included eighteen studies about alcohol intoxication management in the Emergency Department; most of all highlights the emerging phenomenon in Europe and around the world of acute alcohol intoxication management in first aid. The treatment of acute alcohol intoxication depends on general clinical conditions of the patient, vital signs, hemodynamic stability, cognitive state, alcohol-related complications, which are closely related to the blood alcohol concentration. At the same time, symptoms could be extremely variable due to individual differences in alcohol metabolism. In case of mild-moderate intoxication (blood alcohol concentration < 1 g/L), no drugs are necessary. In case of severe intoxication (blood alcohol concentration > 1 g/L), it is necessary to support with intravenous fluids, treat hypoglycemia, hypotension, hypothermia and electrolyte imbalance, administer complex B and C vitamins and accelerate alcohol elimination from blood with metadoxine. Unlike adults, adolescents are more exposed to the toxic effect of alcohol (because of their immature hepatic alcohol dehydrogenase activity), and then, acute alcohol-related complications are more frequent and dangerous in young people than in adult population. In many cases, patients affected by acute alcohol intoxication referring to an Emergency Department have mild-moderate transitory symptoms that do not require the use of drugs; they can benefit from a clinical observation, with a clinical course often completed within 24 hours with a favorable outcome. Clinical observation with vital signs control is necessary also to evaluate the possible development of the alcohol withdrawal syndrome (that involves a specific treatment) and to evaluate also possible pathological complications of the organism, above all acute liver damage.
CONCLUSIONS
Patients affected by acute alcohol intoxication are the best candidates to apply the rules of the Temporary Observation Unit in the Emergency Department, because of a clinical course often completed within 24 hours, a favorable outcome and without the need for hospitalization. In many cases, hospitalization could be not necessary, but the patient affected by Alcohol Use Disorder must be referred to an Alcohol Addiction Unit for the follow-up, to reduce the risk of alcohol relapse and complications related to alcohol abuse, and financial costs of hospitalization.
Topics: Alcoholic Intoxication; Blood Alcohol Content; Emergency Service, Hospital; First Aid; Hospitalization; Humans
PubMed: 32965003
DOI: 10.26355/eurrev_202009_22859 -
Tidsskrift For Den Norske Laegeforening... Sep 2019
Topics: Adolescent; Aftercare; Alcoholic Intoxication; Ambulatory Care Facilities; Dangerous Behavior; Humans; Substance-Related Disorders; Young Adult
PubMed: 31556530
DOI: 10.4045/tidsskr.19.0513 -
The International Journal on Drug Policy Jul 2020
Topics: Adolescent; Alcohol Drinking; Alcoholic Intoxication; Brain; Ethanol; Gender Identity; Humans; Young Adult
PubMed: 32423660
DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2020.102780 -
BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.) Jan 1997
Topics: Alcoholic Intoxication; Ethanol; Humans; Methanol
PubMed: 9001463
DOI: 10.1136/bmj.314.7073.2 -
The Milbank Quarterly Dec 2015
Topics: Alcohol Drinking in College; Alcoholic Intoxication; Binge Drinking; Female; Humans; Life Style; Male; Peer Group; Risk-Taking; Students; United States; Universities
PubMed: 26626974
DOI: 10.1111/1468-0009.12153 -
Jornal de Pediatria 2017To review the screening, diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of intoxication by alcohol and other drugs in children and adolescents in the emergency scenario. (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE
To review the screening, diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of intoxication by alcohol and other drugs in children and adolescents in the emergency scenario.
DATA SOURCE
This was a narrative literature review.
DATA SUMMARY
The detection of this problem in the emergency room can be a challenge, especially when its assessment is not standardized. The intentional and episodic use of large amounts of psychoactive substances by adolescents is a usual occurrence, and unintentional intoxication is more common in children younger than 12 years. The clinical picture in adolescents and children differs from that in adults and some particularities are important in the emergency scenario. After management of the acute condition, interventions targeting the adolescent at risk may be effective.
CONCLUSION
The diagnosis and treatment of intoxication by alcohol and other drugs in adolescents and children in the emergency scenario requires a systematic evaluation of the use of these drugs. There are few specific treatments for intoxication, and the management comprehends support measures and management of related clinical complications.
Topics: Accidents, Home; Adolescent; Alcoholic Intoxication; Child; Emergency Service, Hospital; Humans; Psychotropic Drugs
PubMed: 28886402
DOI: 10.1016/j.jped.2017.06.015 -
Drug and Alcohol Dependence Jul 2020Alcohol and marijuana are frequently co-used with overlapping effects. However, the absence of consistent operational definitions delineating simultaneous alcohol and...
BACKGROUND
Alcohol and marijuana are frequently co-used with overlapping effects. However, the absence of consistent operational definitions delineating simultaneous alcohol and marijuana use (SAM) from concurrent use (CAM) challenges consistent inferences about these behaviors. This study first examined whether daily alcohol and marijuana co-use predicted substance-use related consequences and subjective intoxication; and then evaluated whether competing operationalizations of SAM and CAM were associated with differences in these outcomes on co-use days.
METHODS
A sample of 341 young adult college students who reported past-month use of both alcohol and marijuana "at the same time so that their effects overlapped" completed a two-wave survey with paired 28-day daily experience sampling bursts examining alcohol and marijuana co-use. Outcomes were (a) daily substance-use related consequences; and (b) daily subjective intoxication. Focal predictors were daily drinks and marijuana uses; daily co-use versus single-substance use (Aim 1) or CAM versus SAM (Aim 2); and their interaction.
RESULTS
Participants reported more negative consequences on co-use days versus marijuana-only days and greater subjective intoxication relative to alcohol or marijuana-only days. Competing operationalizations of SAM, defined as daily co-use occurring within 1-240 min in increments of 1 min, found no difference in consequences or subjective intoxication regardless of operationalization.
CONCLUSION
Co-use days involve greater risk than alcohol-only or marijuana-only days. Although there was no evidence of additional daily risk from simultaneous use regardless of the timeframe used to operationalize it, investigating these effects remains challenging due to the generally small timeframe between substances on co-use days in this sample.
Topics: Adolescent; Alcohol Drinking; Alcoholic Intoxication; Comorbidity; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Male; Marijuana Use; Students; Surveys and Questionnaires; Universities; Young Adult
PubMed: 32417362
DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.107986 -
The Western Journal of Medicine Nov 1980
Topics: Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Alcoholic Intoxication; Alcoholism; Humans; Hypothermia; Male
PubMed: 7467297
DOI: No ID Found