A new study suggests that alcohol withdrawal rates have skyrocketed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The researchers found a 34% increase in hospitalized patients who had symptoms such as headaches, nausea, tremors and seizures for not using alcohol after a period of intense drinking.
In addition, rates from March to September 2020 were consistently higher compared to 2019.
The ChristianaCare team, one of the largest health systems in the mid-Atlantic region, believes its study is the first to quantify the rate of alcohol abstinence among people in the hospital.
They say the findings are a “clarion call” for other hospital systems to increase their detection to remove alcohol consumption so it can be treated.
A new study found that during the pandemic, from March 25 to September 22, alcohol withdrawal rates increased by 34% compared to the same period in 2019 (above)
“We designed the study to capture the big picture,” said lead author Ram Sharma, a psychiatrist resident at ChristianaCare.
“We expected to see higher rates of alcohol withdrawal during the pandemic, and the data proved us right. Increased surveillance to identify alcohol withdrawal with systematic screening of hospitalized patients will be critical, as that the peaks of the pandemic will force future orders to stay at home. ”
Alcohol abstinence is the name of the changes that occur when someone who has been drinking heavily for a long time suddenly stops or significantly reduces alcohol intake.
Among people who drink very long-term, their brain chemistry adjusts because it is constantly exposed to the sedative or depressive effect of alcohol.
The brain makes more stimulant chemicals, such as serotonin or norepinephrine, to offset the effects of alcohol.
Therefore, when alcohol is suddenly withdrawn, the brain is overstimulated.
Some of the mildest symptoms that can be experienced, such as headaches, nausea and vomiting.
However, some patients experience more severe symptoms such as tremors, hallucinations, seizures, and delirium tremens, which is when a dangerous change in a person’s breathing occurs.
For the study, published in JAMA Network Open, the team examined data from all patients hospitalized at two of ChristianaCare’s hospitals in Delaware, Christiana Hospital and Wilmington Hospital, between January 1, 2018 and January 22, 2018. September 2020.
The researchers used a revised alcohol withdrawal assessment tool from the Clinical Institute to identify hospitalized patients with alcohol abstinence.
During the last two weeks of May, the rates of hospitalized patients with alcohol abstinence were 84% compared to the same two weeks of 2019 (file image)
Patients were examined for three time periods in 2020: before the order to stay at home (January 1 to March 24); during the home stay order (March 25-May 31) and after the home stay order (June 1-September 22).
They found 340 patients diagnosed with alcohol withdrawal before the home stay order, 231 during the home stay order, and 507 after the home stay order.
The team then compared alcohol withdrawal rates in 2020 with the corresponding periods in 2018 and 2019.
The results showed that during the pandemic, from March 25 to September 22, alcohol withdrawal in hospitalized patients increased 34% compared to the same time period in 2019.
The highest incidence occurred during the last two weeks of the stay-at-home order, with 84% more patients with alcohol abstinence compared to the same two weeks in 2019.
Inpatients can benefit from early intervention and treatment, including plenty of fluids; medications to control heart rate, blood pressure and respiration; and medications called benzodiazepines to treat anxiety, panic attacks, seizures, nausea, and vomiting,
“Our findings are relevant nationally and serve as a call to alert other hospital systems of the growing need to detect and treat alcohol withdrawal and refer patients to continued alcohol treatment,” he said. Dr. Terry Horton, Chief Addiction Medicine.
“Our study makes use of ChristianaCare’s ongoing surveillance for alcohol withdrawal, which can occur when patients admitted to the hospital are cut off from all sources of alcohol.”