| Abstract [eng] |
Purpose: The goal of the study is to determine the proportion of alcohol-related seizures (ARS) among acute onset seizure patients, and to assess the results within the context of previous studies. The secondary goal of the study is to compare the characteristics and lab test results between ARS and non-ARS subgroup. Method: We retrospectively evaluated demographical, laboratory and clinical data of 550 patients who have suffered an acute onset seizure and were admitted to the emergency department of Republican Vilnius University Hospital (RVUH) in Lithuania between February 2019 and October 2019. Results: A total of 273 (49,6%) cases of seizures were determined to be alcohol-related, 201 (73,6%) of which had an ICD-10-AM codes F10 or T51.0 attributed to them. Medical records of 72 (26.4%) patients were significant for history of alcohol abuse. The majority (84,2% vs 57,2%, p = 0,001) of the ARS patients were male, they have suffered more frequently from new-onset seizures (31,5% vs. 21,3%, p = 0,007) and more commonly presented with tongue biting (20,9% vs. 7,9%, p < 0,001) compared to non-ARS patients. Patients in ARS subgroup had a less pronounced neurological disease profile (brain tumours 0,4% vs 8,3; stroke 1,1% vs 14,38%; p = 0,001), but more often suffered from alcohol-related liver disease (ARLD), compared to non-ARS patients (11,4% vs. 1,4%; P < 0,001). Conclusion: ARS is a big problem in Lithuania, while approximately half of the patients had seizures related with alcohol abuse. |
