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Alcohol Withdrawal

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Surgical Critical Care Therapy

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Abstract

Alcohol withdrawal is a common problem afflicting patient in many ICUs around the world and across specialties. This is a force of altered cognition that, if left unchecked, can lead to significant challenges in the care of the critically ill and injured. Alcohol withdrawal is a syndrome borne of the sudden cessation of chronic or heavy alcohol ingestion. Its symptoms present on a spectrum and vary in severity. Severe alcohol withdrawal generally involves the manifestation of delirium in combination with symptomatology consistent with alcohol withdrawal. The mainstay of treatment remains benzodiazepines, although many adjuncts have been described in recent years including barbiturates, propofol, and dexmedetomidine.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Division of Trauma, Acute Care and Critical Care, Ruby Memorial Hospital, WVU Medicine, Morgantown, WV, USA

    Uzer Khan

  2. WVU Critical Care and Trauma Institute, Department of Surgery, Ruby Memorial Hospital, WVU Medicine, Morgantown, WV, USA

    Alison Wilson

Authors
  1. Uzer Khan
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  2. Alison Wilson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alison Wilson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Brigham and Womens’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Ali Salim

  2. Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA

    Carlos Brown

  3. Division of Trauma Surgery, Rm C5L100, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Kenji Inaba

  4. Trauma and Emergency Surgery Service, Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, Portland, Oregon, USA

    Matthew J. Martin

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Khan, U., Wilson, A. (2018). Alcohol Withdrawal. In: Salim, A., Brown, C., Inaba, K., Martin, M. (eds) Surgical Critical Care Therapy . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71712-8_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71712-8_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-71711-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-71712-8

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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