알코올 금단 환자에서 금단 섬망 발생의 위험요인

Risk Factors for Delirium Tremens in Patient with Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome

Alcohol withdrawal syndrome occurs in alcohol dependent patients who discontinue or decrease their alcohol consumption. Delirium tremens, is not a frequent, but serious complication of alcohol withdrawal in patients with alcohol dependence. To identify clinical characteristics associated with development of delirium tremens, we performed retrospective case-control study among discharged with diagnosis of alcohol dependence. Seventy six patients discharged between June 2002 and June 2003 were enrolled to this study. Among 76 subjects, 29 patients developed delirium tremens during hospitalization. Bivariate analysis indicated that age, duration of current episode, days since last drinks, comorbid medical illness and presence of brain vulnerability were associated with development of delirium tremens. In a stepwise multiple regression model, four risk factor were significantly correlated with the development of delirium tremens：days since last drinks, brain vulnerability, age, pulse rate (Percentage correct=82.9%). Prediction of alcohol withdrawal delirium by evaluation of several readily available clinical variables can be useful in effective management of alcohol withdrawal patients.