Somatic comorbidities of inpatients receiving treatment for alcohol withdrawal syndrome on a psychiatric ward and their relation to delirium tremens

Introduction
This study aimed to assess the influence of somatic diseases and patient characteristics (age, gender) in relation to delirium tremens (DT) episodes in alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS). We also analysed the influence of age, gender and specific somatic diseases on the duration of hospital stay and the frequency of comorbid somatic diseases among AWS and DT patients.

Material and methods
The medical records of patients admitted to an AWS treatment ward in a Polish psychiatric hospital in 2019 were analysed. In total, 800 hospitalisations of 656 patients (625 hospitalisations for AWS and 175 for DT) were evaluated.

Results
The most frequent group of somatic diseases among AWS and DT patients was cardiovascular diseases, with essential hyper­tension as the main medical condition. Patients suffering from DT were diagnosed with respiratory system diseases (p < 0.001) and pneumonia (p < 0.000) more often than AWS patients. Hospital stays were longer for patients with pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and duodenal ulcers. Patients with acute pancreatitis were hospitalised for a significantly shorter period of time than other patients. Patient gender and age did not significantly affect the development of DT. However, age was positively correlated with duration of hospitalisation (p < 0.001).

Conclusions
The presence of respiratory system diseases, especially pneumonia, was found to influence the incidence of DT in AWS patients. Increased clinical vigilance for the prevention of lower airway infections in AWS patients is essential.