The role of chronic alcohol intake in patients with spontaneous intracranial hemorrhage: a carbohydrate-deficient transferrin study.
OBJECTIVE
Chronic alcohol intake is considered to be a risk factor for spontaneous intracranial hemorrhage (SICH). However, there is a lack of objective data in this field. The aim was to assess its role in hemorrhagic stroke objectively and to evaluate its correlation with the elevation of gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) plasma levels. The reliability of patients' anamnestic data concerning alcohol intake was also assessed.


METHODS
Laboratory assessment of the plasma carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) level was performed in 105 SICH patients and in a control group of 105 patients with dorsalgia. All patients were treated at the Clinic of Neurology, Faculty Hospital, Olomouc, Czech Republic. GGT plasma level values and anamnestic data concerning alcohol consumption were also analyzed. chi(2) tests were applied when assessing statistical significance.


RESULTS
The CDT test was positive in 25.7% of SICH patients versus 7.6% of control group subjects (p = 0.0008). GGT plasma levels were elevated in 44.4% of SICH patients with a positive CDT test versus 25.6% of patients with a negative one. The GGT test is not reliable in the detection of alcohol intake when compared with the CDT test (p = 0.71). Only 13.0% of SICH patients with a positive CDT test (subgroup 1) stated regular and high consumption of all types of alcoholic beverages. Another 26.1% of these patients stated regular daily consumption of more than 1 liter, and 47.8% of them stated less than 1 liter of beer, with uncertain data concerning wine and spirits intake. Thirteen percent of subgroup 1 patients denied alcohol consumption altogether.


CONCLUSIONS
Chronic alcohol consumption is at least one of several risk factors in one fourth of SICH patients in the Olomouc region of the Czech Republic. The CDT test is the most sensitive method to diagnose chronic alcohol consumption, and it is superior to the examination of GGT and the evaluation of patients' anamnestic data.
Herzig
Roman
R
Stroke Center, Clinic of Neurology, Faculty Hospital, Olomouc, Czech Republic. herzig.roman@sezam.cz
Urbánek
Karel
K
Vlachová
Ivana
I
Krupka
Bohdan
B
Gabrys
Martin
M
Mares
Jan
J
Schneiderka
Petr
P
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D018153:Czech Republic / Q000453:epidemiology; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D002532:Intracranial Aneurysm / Q000097:blood / Q000201:enzymology / Q000209:etiology; D002538:Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000201:enzymology; D020300:Intracranial Hemorrhages / Q000097:blood / Q000201:enzymology / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013997:Time Factors; D014168:Transferrin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase / Q000097:blood
D015415:Biomarkers; D014168:Transferrin; C056759:carbohydrate-deficient transferrin; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase