100% satisfaction guarantee Immediately available after payment Both online and in PDF No strings attached
logo-home
Previously searched by you
Previously searched by you
logo
Alcohol withdrawal signs and symptoms $8.49
Add to cart
Quickly navigate to
Preview
  2.  
  3. Delhi University
  4.  
  5. MBBS

Other

Alcohol withdrawal signs and symptoms
 0 purchase
  • Course
  • MBBS
  • Institution
  • Delhi University

Medical notes are an essential component of healthcare, serving several important purposes. Here are some of the key reasons why medical notes are important: Documentation: Medical notes provide a comprehensive record of a patient's medical history, including details of their symptoms, diagnoses...

[Show more]

Preview 2 out of 8  pages

Document information

  • May 20, 2023
  • 8
  • 2022/2023
  • Other
  • Unknown

Subjects

  • lectures
  • thesis
  • mbbs
  • medical
  • healthcare
  • denetics
  • economics
  • research
  • notes

Written for

  • Delhi University
  • MBBS
All documents for this subject (3)

Seller

avatar-seller
shoaibahmad1

Content preview

Two individuals are brought into the emergency department, one night. One
is 28 year old Brian who was brought in by his friend with complaints of
altered consciousness and vomiting.

The friend recalls that Brian had a habit of binge drinking on weekends. On
examination, he was disoriented, and had slurring of speech, loss of
coordination, and nystagmus.

The second is 2 year old Michelle who’s brought by the mother who reported
a seizure episode an hour ago.

Upon further questioning, the mother reveals that Michelle was born 2
months prematurely, was always crying and irritable, and was slow in
reaching developmental milestones.

On examination, Michelle has reduced height and weight, a small eye
opening, smooth philtrum, and thin lips. A neurological exam shows reduced
muscle tone and coordination.

When you obtain a more focused history regarding the mother's pregnancy,
she reported drinking 3-5 glasses of wine each night during the 1st and 2nd
trimester.

Okay, both Brian and Michelle’s symptoms are due to alcohol. Alcoholic
drinks contain the chemical ethanol, which mainly acts in two ways in the
brain, one, it acts as an agonist to GABA, which is the brain’s major inhibitory
neurotransmitter; and two, it acts as an antagonist of glutamate, which is an
excitatory neurotransmitter.

Both these actions produce an overall inhibitory action on the brain’s
neuronal circuits. Now, ethanol’s effects vary based on the blood alcohol
concentration, or BAC, which is the percentage of ethanol in a given volume
of blood.

At a blood alcohol concentration of 0.0 to 0.05%, ethanol produces a relaxed
and happy feeling, along with slurred speech and some difficulty with
coordination and balance.

, At a blood alcohol concentration of 0.06 to 0.15%, there is increased
impairment to speech, memory, attention, and coordination, and some
individuals can get aggressive and even violent.

Complex tasks like driving can become dangerous, which is why it is illegal to
drive in some countries with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or
higher.

At a blood alcohol concentration of 0.16 to 0.30%, individuals can
experience alcohol poisoning where they blackout or experience periods
of amnesia.

Finally, at a blood alcohol concentration above 0.31%, the effect
of alcohol can severely suppress breathing and even lead to death.

Now, the use of alcohol can be assessed by direct and indirect tests. Direct
tests measure the alcohol content in bodily fluids like blood, urine, saliva and
the air breathed out.

In contrast, the indirect tests assess the effect of alcohol on organs like the
liver. Cellular damage causes the release of liver enzymes into the blood.

Gamma-glutamyltransferase, or GGT, is the most sensitive indicator
of alcohol use. In addition, aspartate aminotransferase or AST, alanine
aminotransferase or ALT, are also elevated in chronic alcohol use, although
AST values rise to about twice as much as ALT.

This is because alcohol use decreases ALT activity in the liver. And, that’s
high yield! Over time, in people with prolonged alcohol consumption, neurons
adapt by decreasing their number of GABA receptors, while increasing the
number of NMDA glutamate receptors.

These individuals develop tolerance to the effects of alcohol, and therefore
an increased dose is needed to achieve the original response.

Moreover, if the individual suddenly stops drinking, this receptor imbalance
leads to overactivity of the central nervous system, which can result
in withdrawal symptoms.

The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.

Quick and easy check-out

Quick and easy check-out

You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.

Focus on what matters

Focus on what matters

Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!

Frequently asked questions

What do I get when I buy this document?

You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.

Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?

Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.

Who am I buying these notes from?

Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller shoaibahmad1. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.

Will I be stuck with a subscription?

No, you only buy these notes for $8.49. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.

Can Stuvia be trusted?

4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)

70113 documents were sold in the last 30 days

Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 15 years now

Start selling

Recently viewed by you

Summary ·

(3)

Samenvatting Rechtsvergelijking

Package deal ·

(0)

CMS 315M Exam Bundle (Graded A)

Exam (elaborations) ·

(0)

NURS 615 Pharm Exam 1 – Maryville

Summary ·

(0)

Samenvatting sociaal ondernemen

Exam (elaborations) ·

(0)

Maryville NURS 615 Pharm Exam 2

Exam (elaborations) ·

(0)

ATI Capstone Med Surg Quiz Bank

Study guide ·

(0)

Earth Science Test 1 Study Guide

Summary ·

(0)

Economie en sociaal werk samenvatting

Package deal ·

(0)

Project Veiligheid en Justitie

$8.49
  • (0)
Add to cart
Added