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[Preoperative blood alcohol levels in patients hospitalized for prolonged surgical procedures]
F W Neukam1, J Strauss, H Schliephake
1Klinik und Poliklinik für Mund-, Kiefer- und Gesichtschirurgie Medizinische Hochschule Hannover.
Abstract:
Self medication using anxiolytic and relaxing agents prior to surgery is a common phenomen in many patients. In our prospective study of 356 patients undergoing prolonged surgical procedures (greater than 3 h), we evaluated the preoperative ethanol level of the blood using gas-chromatography. In 39 (10.9%) of 307 tumor patients ethanol could be detected in high concentrations, indicating the ingestion of disinfectants. Among our 49 orthognathic cases blood alcohol was found in 4 cases (8.2%). Since the minimum effective dose for ethanol ist 0.1 to 0.2 g/l, the patients' legal capacity when giving informed consent for surgery and anesthesia is to be questioned and the risks of analgosedation in outpatient must be considered.
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