Refeeding syndrome is uncommon in alcoholics admitted to a hospital detoxification unit

Autor: Mark Weatherall, S. Manning, M. Gilmour, Geoff Robinson
Rok vydání: 2014
Předmět:
Zdroj: Internal Medicine Journal. 44:512-514
ISSN: 1444-0903
Popis: The refeeding syndrome is increasingly recognised. It is a serious change in electrolytes when nutrition is reintroduced to malnourished patients. Alcohol dependence is a risk factor for the refeeding syndrome. We report a prospective cohort study of 36 alcoholics hospitalised for withdrawal management. We found no evidence of refeeding syndrome in any patient after 3 days of hospitalisation, despite hypomagnesaemia, a risk factor for the refeeding syndrome being prevalent (44% of subjects). Low thiamine levels were infrequent affecting 3/29 (10%). We recommend that in alcoholics admitted for managed withdrawal, risk of refeeding syndrome appears to be low, and routine testing of repeat electrolytes appears unnecessary.
Databáze: OpenAIRE