Medical Consequences of Alcohol Excess Flashcards
how many units of alcohol a week are recommended in alcohol guidelines
14 - spread over 3 days or more
where is alcohol death most common
men < 65
scotland
acute effects of excess alcohol consumption
CNS
GI
respiratory
CNS acute effects of excess alcohol consumption
accidents
violence
GI acute effects of excess alcohol consumption
oesophagitis
gastritis/ulceration
acute pancreatitis
respiratory acute effects of excess alcohol consumption
overdose
aspiration
chronic effects of excess alcohol consumption
GI CNS cardiovascular hematologic musculoskeletal endocrine dermatologic reproductive
GI chronic effects of excess alcohol consumption
stomach
liver
pancreas
cardiovascular chronic effects of excess alcohol consumption
hypertension
cardiomyopathy
MI
stroke
CNS chronic effects of excess alcohol consumption
neuropathies
cerebellar degeneration
dementia
wernicke-korsakoff’s syndrome
effects of underage drinking on the brain
smaller hippocampal areas than non-drinkers
greater activity in brain linked to;
reward
desire
positive effect
episodic recall in response to alcohol advertisements
hematologic chronic effects of excess alcohol consumption
anaemia
bone marrow suppression
musculoskeletal chronic effects of excess alcohol consumption
proximal myopathy
osteoporosis
what is foetal alcohol syndrome
children exposed to alcohol in uterus
7-14 drinks (>5 per occasion) can cause moderate damage to foetus
effects of baby due to foetal alcohol syndrome
growth deficiency
mental retardation/intellectual impairment
attentional learning disabilities
behavioural problems
how does alcohol effect the liver
alcohol metabolism;
cirrhosis
alcohol hepatitis
signs of chronic liver disease
stigmata - spiders, fetor, encephalopathy
‘synthetic dysfunction’
prolonged PT
hypoalbuminaemia
signs of portal hypertension
caput medusa
hypersplenism
Thrombocytopenia (pancytopenia)
how is cirrhosis staged
childs-turcotte Pugh
model for end stage liver disease (MELD)
LFTs of alcoholic hepatitis
bilirubin > 80
AST <500 - 10 fold increase (AST:ALT ration > 1.5)
characteristic features of alcohol hepatitis
hepatomegaly
fever
leucocytosis
hepatic bruit
scoring for alcoholic hepatitis
maddrey’s discriminant function
Glasgow alcoholic hepatitis score
treatment for alcoholic hepatitis
Prednisolone
Pentoxifylline
