22 - Alcohol intoxication in the emergency room: effect on some common laboratory tests
Rivista: Riv Med Lab - JLM, Vol. 2, N. 4, 2001 (SIRSE Srl ed.)
A. Frezzotti, G. Giordano, F. Cingolani, G. Mariani, A. Salvi
Background. Excessive alcohol consumption and alcohol abuse may lead to a variety of diseases.
Many changes in biochemical and hematological laboratory parameters have been observed in alcoholic
subjects. The present paper evaluates the serum concentration of some common laboratory tests in
subjects with acute alcohol intoxication.
Methods. Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels were determined in 877 subjects treated in the
emergency room; 774 (93.1%) of them, 631 (81.52%) males and 143 (18.48%) females, had a detectable
alcohol concentration (>10 mg/dL). Erythrocyte mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and serum
glucose, urea, creatinine, sodium (Na+), potassium (K+) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine-
aminotransferase (ALT), creatine phosphokinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), amylase
(AMY) activities were also measured.
Results. 462 males (73.21%) and 100 females (69.93%) were alcohol intoxicated with BAC levels higher
than 80 mg/dL. 142 (22.9%) males and 27 (20%) females were alcoholics with a MCV value higher
than 97 fL. The mean value of BAC levels was not significantly different in alcoholic versus nonalcoholic
males and females. However, significant differences were observed in AST, ALT, AMY values.
In non-alcoholic subjects significant changes of urea, AST, ALT, LDH values in males and AST
and ALT in females were associated with BAC levels higher than 80mg/dL and significant glucose
changes. AMY and Na+ changes were observed where BAC levels were higher than 200 mg/dL in
both males and females; significant MCV and glucose changes were associated with the highest BAC
levels in both males and females. In alcoholic subjects significant changes for urea, AST, ALT and
Na+ values were observed for BAC levels higher than 200 mg/dL in both males and females....