Addictions/Alcohol & substance misuse Flashcards
What is the epidemiology of alcohol?
- 57% of adults had a drink in the last week
- Higher income earners have higher prevalences of drinking
- Most alcohol is given by parents and then by friends (kids)
- 2.1% all hospital admissions due to alcohol
- 33% A&E admissions are due to alcohol
- Majority hospital admissions due to alcohol are mainly male and in the middle age 45-64
- Highest link to cardiovascular disease(1), cancer(2), diseases of the nervous system (3), unintentional injuries (4) (ALL PARTIALLY ATTRIBUTE)
- WHOLY ATTRIBUTE → mental and behavioural disorders due to alcohol use (1), alcoholic liver disease (2), toxic effect of alcohol (3)
- Alcohol related deaths higher in males
What is the aetiology of alcohol disorders?
- Individual factors
- Genetic
- Close family 4x higher risk, Adoptees have risk of alcoholism as biological family
- Learning Factors
- Personality Factors
- Risk taking / Novelty seeking / Antisocial
- Psychiatric disorder
- For example, anxiety / Depression
- Genetic
- Social or environmental factors
- Availability
- Peer pressure
- Social environment (higher association with deprived areas)and social network
- Societal influences
Excessive consumption is more common in…
Excess consumption more prevalent in
–Males (3x)
–Under 45’s
–White vs other races
–Chefs, barmen (easy access)
–Executives / Salesmen
–Entertainers, seamen, journalists
–Doctors
What physical harm does alcohol misuse have?
- Accident & injury
- Acute alcohol poisoning
- Aspiration pneumonia
- Mallory Weiss Syndrome
- Oesophagitis
- Gastritis
- Pancreatitis
- Malabsorption + refeeding
- Hypertension
- Cardiomyopathy
- Strokes
- Seizures and DTs
- Liver damage
- Brain damage
- Peripheral neuropathy
- Myopathy
- Osteoporosis
- Skin disorders
- Malignancies
- Sexual dysfunction
- Infertility
- Foetal damage
What psychological harm can alcohol misuse have?
- Insomnia
- Depression
- Suicide
- Attempted suicide
- Anxiety states
- Personality changes
- Psychotic illness
- AmnesiaoAlcoholic hallucinosis
- Morbid jealousy
- Delirium tremens
What social harm does alcohol misuse have?
- Relationships
- domestic violence, divorce, child neglect & abuse
- Work
- unemployment, absenteeism, under-performance
- Criminal behavior
- drunkenness, drunk & disorderly, drink driving, criminal damage, theft, burglary, violence
- Social disintegration
- financial difficulties, homelessness, vagrancy
How do people present with alcohol use disorder?
- Intoxication
- A transient condition following the administration of alcohol resulting in disturbances in level of consciousness, cognition, perception, affect or behaviour, or other psycho-physiological functions and responses
- Harmful use
- A pattern of alcohol use that is causing (actual) damage to physical or mental health. Excludes simple hangovers
- Dependence
What is alcohol dependence?
Alcohol Dependence (ICD-11)
>=2 of…
-
Control (Powerlessness)
- … over onset, intensity, duration, termination, frequency, context
-
Priority
- … over other aspects of health “despite harm or negative consequences”
- bio-psycho-social
-
Physiological
- … tolerance, withdrawal, use to prevent/alleviate withdrawal
- Time course: >12 months (or 3 months if continuous)
Alcohol dependance has gone down over time
What are the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal?
- Withdrawal
- Symptoms occurring on absolute or relative withdrawal of alcohol after repeated / high dose use. Occur within 12 hours of the last drink.
- Delirium Tremens
- Toxic confusional state due to severe alcohol withdrawal. Characterised by cognitive impairment, disorientation, agitation, fluctuating levels of confusion and sometimes psychotic symptoms.
- Wernicke- Korsakoff’s syndrome; spectrum of disease resulting from thiamine deficiency consisting of
- Wernicke’s encephalopathy; neurological sx (classic triad of confusion, ataxia and Opthalmoplegia rarely present)
- Korsakoff’s syndrome; late manifestation where WE has progressed
- Marked deficits in anterograde memory, apathy, confabulation, relative preservation of other intellectual abilities
Recognition and assessment of alcohol misuse?
- Any risk factors, harms, presentations as per previous slides
-
General
- Do they drink, what do they drink, how much, how often, any drink free days, previous support, screen for harmful use / dependence, mental health illnesses and associated harms
-
CAGE:
- Have you ever felt you ought to cut down on your drinking?
- Have people annoyed you by criticising your drinking?
- Have you ever felt guilty about your drinking?
- Have you ever had an ‘eye opener’ drink first thing in the morning to steady your nerves or get rid of a hangover?
- 2 positive answers to identify alcohol misuse
Explain the amount of units in an alcoholic drink
multiplying the total volume of a drink (in ml) by its ABV (measured as a percentage) and dividing the result by 1,000. For example, to work out the number of units in a pint (568ml) of strong lager (ABV 5.2%): 5.2 (%) x 568 (ml) ÷ 1,000 = 2.95 units.
Explain the AUDIT screening questionnaire for dependence
How to access severity of dependence?
SADQ
What would you see on a physical exam and bloods of an alcoholic?
-
Physical exam
- Neglect, gynaecomastia, liver disease, ascites, face, neuropathy,
- Mental state and Psychiatric co-morbidities
-
Bloods
- Of note FBC may show increased MCV, LFTs including GGT, USG liver, liver biopsy
What are the risk factors of alcohol withdrawal?
- Risk factors
- Regular use of >8 units of alcohol per day for men, >6 for women
- Previous withdrawal
Explain the management of alcohol withdrawal
CIWA-Ar → clinical institute withdrawal assessment - alcohol reviseed