Alcohol Abuse Linked to Sepsis, Mortality in Critical Patients

COLUMBUS, Ohio – According to recent research, patients who abuse alcohol are less likely to survive critical illness.

Researchers at Ohio State University Medical Center studied the outcomes of over 11,000 critically ill patients admitted to the intensive care units of an urban hospital over six years. They found that patients with alcoholism or alcohol withdrawal were at a higher risk of having sepsis and septic shock and were more likely to die during hospitalization.

James M. O’Brien, M.D.

The findings will be published in February’s issue of the journal Critical Care Medicine and are currently available on the journal’s Web site.

The researchers found that alcohol dependence is independently associated with sepsis, septic shock and hospital mortality among intensive care patients, according to Dr. James O’Brien, a pulmonologist and critical care specialist at Ohio State University Medical Center and principal…