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Chapter 8 - Alcohol Misuse

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 January 2024

By
Rachel Thomasson  and
Ashokkumar Shishodia
Edited by
Rachel Thomasson ,
Elspeth Guthrie  and
Allan House
Rachel Thomasson
Affiliation:
Manchester Centre for Clinical Neurosciences
Elspeth Guthrie
Affiliation:
Leeds Institute of Health Sciences
Allan House
Affiliation:
Leeds Institute of Health Sciences
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Summary

Complications of alcohol misuse are frequently encountered in the general hospital setting, as well as primary care and outpatient clinics. It is an essential part of the skillset of a consultation-liaison (CL) psychiatrist to be able to competently assess the scale of the problem, to offer advice and guidance on acute issues which may arise during intoxication and withdrawal and to orchestrate appropriate support and follow-up if a patient is willing to engage. This chapter aims to equip the reader with relevant epidemiology, some clinically useful biology and mathematics and a scaffold for building on previously acquired basics in terms of assessment and management of alcohol-related problems in the general hospital setting.

Keywords

alcoholalcoholismalcoholdependencealcohol intoxicationalcohol withdrawalalcohol detoxificationdelirium tremensWernicke’s encephalopathy
Type
Chapter
Information
Seminars in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry , pp. 117 - 133
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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