A chart review study finds that 6% of patients presumed to be ethanol-intoxicated were not, yet most did well nonetheless.
Physicians vary in their management of patients with presumed ethanol intoxication. Some measure ethanol levels, and some do not. Some order a battery of laboratory tests, and some do not. Some give thiamine, dextrose, or fluids, and some do not. To evaluate the contribution of ethanol testing to management of patients with presumed ethanol intoxication, investigators determined outcomes among those who were found to have breath ethanol levels of zero. The chart review study was conducted at a single emergency department over a 5-year period.
Of 29,322 adult patients presumed to be intoxicated with ethanol, 1875 (6%) had negative breath ethanol testing. Among those with negative testing, 90% had altered mental status due to other illicit sub…
Reviewing Author
DisclosuresConsultant/Advisory BoardPortola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Speaker’s BureauPeerView Institute for Medical Education
Grant/Research SupportAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality; CDC; NIH–National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences; NIH–National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); NIH–NIAID–Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group; Merck; Pfizer; Boehringer-Ingelheim; Shire; Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Novartis; bioMérieux; Siemens; Rapid Pathogen Screening; Magnolia; Stago; Innovative Biosensors; Molecular Detection, Inc.; Dyax Corp.; Trius Pharmaceuticals
DisclosuresConsultant/Advisory BoardPortola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Speaker’s BureauPeerView Institute for Medical Education
Grant/Research SupportAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality; CDC; NIH–National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences; NIH–National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); NIH–NIAID–Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group; Merck; Pfizer; Boehringer-Ingelheim; Shire; Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Novartis; bioMérieux; Siemens; Rapid Pathogen Screening; Magnolia; Stago; Innovative Biosensors; Molecular Detection, Inc.; Dyax Corp.; Trius Pharmaceuticals