User:Mr. Ibrahem/Alcohol withdrawal syndrome
Medical condition / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 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 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]