RESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: By using a standardized and systematic screening with the FACE questionnaire, our aims were : - to determine the prevalence of alcohol misuse (AM) among patients admitted in the emergency department of the European Georges-Pompidou Hospital; - to search for risk factors associated with AM. METHODS: Patients admitted between 9 am and 5 pm were included for 7 consecutive days in June 2017. The variables collected were age, gender, reason for and day of admission, acute alcohol intoxication, benzodiazepines misuse, use of illicit drugs, and the FACE. An AM was defined by a score ≥5 for men and ≥4 for women. Descriptive analyses calculated the prevalence of AM and logistic regressions calculated the risks for AM. RESULTS: A total of 190 men and 221 women were included, with 31% and 19% of them with AM, respectively. The risk of AM was positively associated with male gender, weekend admission and illicit drug use. It was negatively associated with age. The risk of AM was not significantly different according to the reason for admission (trauma versus medical). The risk of AM was not associated with misuse of benzodiazepines. Among the 100 patients with AM, only six had been admitted in acute alcohol intoxication. CONCLUSION: A systematic screening is crucial to identify patients that should benefit from brief intervention or specialized intervention in an addictology unit.
Asunto(s)
Intoxicación Alcohólica/diagnóstico , Detección de Abuso de Sustancias/normas , Adulto , Anciano , Intoxicación Alcohólica/epidemiología , Servicio de Urgencia en Hospital , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Factores de Riesgo , AutoinformeRESUMEN
We report two patients with myelopathy associated with copper deficiency and pancytopenia. Excessive intake of zinc can lead to a severe deficiency of copper reducing the absorption of ingested copper. The patients had in common consumption of denture adhesive paste containing zinc. In both patients, laboratory tests showed a combination of copper deficiency, hyperzincemia and increased urinary zinc level. The use of a denture cream was stopped. Copper supplementation, initially subcutaneously then oral corrected the copper deficiency and pancytopenia. Clinically, the pain faded but the gait disturbance persisted. Copper deficiency associated with the use of denture cream rich in zinc is an unrecognized cause of myelopathy associated with pancytopenia which should be diagnosed early to establish appropriate therapeutic measures to minimize neurological complications.