title: Long-term mortality of patients admitted to the hospital with alcohol withdrawal syndrome.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although it is well known that alcoholism increases long-term mortality, there is a paucity of data regarding long-term prognosis in alcoholic patients who have an episode of alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS).
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied a cohort of 1,265 individuals with severe AWS who were admitted to a single university hospital between 1996 and 2006. Median age was 49 years (range 18 to 89 years). A total of 1,085 (85.8%) were men. Median follow-up was 34 months (range 0 to 121 months). Survival of patients with AWS was compared with that of a reference cohort of 1,362 individuals from the same area. In addition, age- and sex-standardized mortality ratios were calculated using the general population from the region (Galicia, Spain) as the reference.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The risk of mortality was higher in the cohort of patients with AWS than in the reference cohort after adjusting for age, sex, and smoking (hazard ratio 12.7; 95% CI 9.1 to 17.6; p < 0.001). The standardized mortality ratio in patients with AWS was 8.6 (95% CI 7.7 to 9.7). Age, smoking, serum creatinine, serum bilirubin, and prothrombin time at baseline were independently associated with mortality among patients with AWS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Long-term mortality is highly increased in patients who have a history of AWS. Liver and kidney dysfunction are independent predictors of long-term mortality in patients with AWS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Clinico Universitario, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
authors.forename: Joaquin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.forename: Lorena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Roca
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gude
authors.forename: Arturo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gonzalez-Quintela
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000639:trends*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy*; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol