Wetterling et al identified risk factors for severe alcohol withdrawal. These can help to identify a patient on admission who was at risk for severe withdrawal. The authors are from J. W. Goethe University and University Medical School Luebeck.
Patient selection: alcohol withdrawal
Elements of the LARS11 (a shorter subset of the LARS22) seen on admission:
(1) previous withdrawal delirium
(2) previous withdrawal seizures
(3) frequent sleep disturbances during the past week
(4) nightmares during the past week
(5) blood alcohol concentration >= 1 g/L
(6) tremor AND blood alcohol >= 1 g/L
(7) sweating AND blood alcohol >= 1 g/L
(8) tachycardia (pulse >= 100 per minute) AND blood alcohol >= 1 g/L
(9) polyneuropathy
(10) ataxia
(11) serum chloride < 96 mmol/L
The risk of severe withdrawal increased with the number and magnitude of these findings.
