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Liquor for breakfast, fighting against alcohol consumption

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 August 2024

N. Navarro Barriga
Affiliation:
Hospital clínico universitario de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
P. Marqués Cabezas*
Affiliation:
Hospital clínico universitario de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
M. B. Arribas Simón
Affiliation:
Hospital clínico universitario de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
B. Rodríguez Rodríguez
Affiliation:
Hospital clínico universitario de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
C. Alario Ruiz
Affiliation:
Hospital clínico universitario de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
G. Guerra Valera
Affiliation:
Hospital clínico universitario de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
A. Aparicio Parras
Affiliation:
Hospital clínico universitario de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
M. J. Mateos Sexmero
Affiliation:
Hospital clínico universitario de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
M. Fernández Lozano
Affiliation:
Hospital clínico universitario de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
P. Martínez Gimeno
Affiliation:
Hospital clínico universitario de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
M. A. Andreo Vidal
Affiliation:
Hospital clínico universitario de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
M. Calvo Valcárcel
Affiliation:
Hospital clínico universitario de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
M. P. Pando Fernández
Affiliation:
Hospital clínico universitario de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
M. D. L. A. Guillén Soto
Affiliation:
Hospital clínico universitario de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
T. Jimenez Aparicio
Affiliation:
Hospital clínico universitario de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
M. D. C. Vallecillo Adame
Affiliation:
Hospital clínico universitario de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
C. De Andrés Lobo
Affiliation:
Hospital clínico universitario de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

The harmful consumption of alcohol is known for how tortuous its management can be in mental health, encouraging introspection of it as a serious problem is perhaps the main key to starting to battle against its damaging influence on the development of a functional and full life.

Objectives

To describe a clinical case showing an unpredictible complication in an alcohol detoxification process.

Methods

54-year-old man, native of Cádiz, widowed for half a decade, without children. He resides with his parents in the family home. Currently unemployed for approximately a year. He has previously worked in the IT sector. As a notable somatic history, we found long-established arterial hypertension and a total hip replacement. He has been under irregular follow-up with a mental health team for anxiety-depressive symptoms in the context of grief. He goes to the emergency service brought by his family to begin the detoxification process in the hospital setting. He acknowledges ethanol consumption since he was widowed, which began when he awakes; quantities that ranged between one or up to three bottles of distilled liquor per day, generally consumption is in the home environment. A little less than a year ago, he began to isolate himself in his room and abandon his self-care, eating increasingly insufficient food intake, refusing to receive professional care to quit the habit, mainly because he did not recognize it as disruptive.

The patient was admitted to hospital with symptoms suggestive of withdrawal, making it extremely difficult to control blood pressure levels. On the third day of admission to the acute care unit, fever peaks, blood pressure levels well below normal parameters, and compromised level of consciousness began to be evident.

Results

Blood tests were performed that, together with the clinical picture, suggested imminent septic shock, so critical care was contacted for transfer and stabilization. A germ of probable urinary etiology sensitive to a broad spectrum of antibiotics was isolated in blood cultures, and the medication of the detoxification process was progressively optimized. Once clinical stability was achieved at all levels, an inpatient cessation resource was managed, which the patient accepted and considered suitable for his complete recovery.

Conclusions

A holistic approach to the alcoholic patient is important, since serious problems of an organic nature often arise. This is why a multidisciplinary intervention is necessary, as well as a holistic approach to care, involving both classic pharmacology and assiduous long-term psychotherapeutic intervention.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Type
Abstract
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of European Psychiatric Association
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