Alcohol intoxication among Dutch adolescents: acute medical complications in the years 2000-2010.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate acute medical complications of alcohol intoxication among adolescents presenting to Reinier de Graaf Hospital, a major nonacademic hospital in Delft, the Netherlands.


METHODS
The frequency of reduced consciousness, hypothermia, electrolyte disturbances, hypoglycemia, and acidosis along with alcohol intoxication was retrospectively studied in the medical records of patients aged 11 to 17 years admitted between January 1, 2000, and April 30, 2010.


RESULTS
Reduced consciousness (45%) and hypothermia (43.1%) were the most common clinical findings. More boys than girls experienced hypothermia (P = .028), probably because of the higher blood alcohol concentration level ( P = .026), which was associated with lower temperature (Pearson's r = -.37; P < .001). The most frequent electrolyte disturbance was hyperchloremia (31.1%), followed by low bicarbonate (22%), hypokalemia (11.9%), and hypernatremia (7.7%). Strikingly, none of the patients in this study suffered hypoglycemia. On the contrary, 13.6% of the patients were slightly hyperglycemic. Mild acidosis, both metabolic and respiratory, was observed among 28.8% of the patients, although the metabolic component predominated.


CONCLUSIONS
Acute medical complications because of alcohol intoxication appeared to be mild, and most remarkably none of the patients experienced hypoglycemia.
Department of Pediatrics, Reinier de Graaf Hospital, Delft, Netherlands. S.Bouthoorn@rdgg.nl
Selma H
SH
Bouthoorn
Tjeerd
T
van der Ploeg
Nina E
NE
van Erkel
Nico
N
van der Lely
D000138:Acidosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D000142:Acidosis, Respiratory / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D003244:Consciousness Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D000431:Ethanol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007003:Hypoglycemia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D007035:Hypothermia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence; D014883:Water-Electrolyte Imbalance / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology
D000431:Ethanol