Medical consequences of alcohol excess Flashcards
What are the current alcohol guidelines?
No more than 14 units of alcohol a week - ideally spread evenly over 3 days or more
Roughly how many units are in a pint of beer?
2.3 units
How many units are in 25ml of spirit?
1 unit
How many units are in a medium (175ml) of wine?
2.3 units
What might be the acute effects of excess alcohol consumption?
CNS - accidents, violence
GI - oesophagitis, gastritis/ulceration, acute pancreatitis
Resp - overdose, aspiration
What might be the chronic effects of excess alcohol consumption?
Gastrointestinal -Stomach, Liver, Pancreas
Cardiovascular- Hypertension, Cardiomyopathy, Myocardial infarction, Stroke
CNS - Neuropathies, Cerebellar degeneration, Dementia, Wernicke-Korsakoff’s syndrome
What might be some chronic effects of underage drinking?
Hematologic - Anaemia, Bone marrow suppression
Musculoskeletal - Proximal myopathy, Oestoporesis
Endocrine
Dermatologic
Reproductive
What is foetal alcohol syndrome?
When a child is exposed to alcohol in utero
7-14 drinks/wk can cause moderate damage
What might be some consequences of foetal alcohol syndrome?
Growth deficiency Mental retardation Intellectual impairment Attentional learning disabilities Behavioural problems
What are some signs of chronic liver disease?
Stigmata - spiders, fetter, encephalopathy
Synthetic dysfunction
Prolonged PT time
Hypoalbuminaemia
What are some signs of portal hypertension?
Caput medusa
Hypersplenism
Thrombocytopenia
What are some essential features of alcoholic hepatitis?
Recent excess alcohol
Bilirubin > 80umol/l
Exclusion of other liver disease
AST < 500 (AST:ALT ratio > 1.5)
What are some characteristic features of alcoholic hepatitis?
Hepatomegaly
Fever
Leucocytosis
Hepatic Bruit
What is alcohol broken down to when metabolised? (Look into this)
Alcohol dehydrogenase and Aldehyde dehydrogenase (breaks them down)
Ketone bodies
What is another term for fatty liver?
Steatosis
