I’m just drunk NOT vitamin deficient so stop with the ‘bananas’

Most of our intoxicated patients are not vitamin deficient and don’t need supplementation. The real kicker is that we almost never really try to find out if the patient might be a chronic abuser and potentially at risk. We just hang the bag. Remember, everything we do in medicine has a potential downside. And if the patient really doesn’t need a banana bag in the first place, there is no benefit to balance that risk. The next time you ask for that little yellow bag, think again!

Are you an Alcoholic? Test and get help

The CAGE questions are 4 simple and easy-to-remember to screen for alcohol use problems. CAGE is a screening tool: screening measures are NOT intended to provide a diagnosis; diagnosis occurs if/when a patient screens positive. An abnormal or positive screening result may thus “raise suspicion” about the presence of an alcohol use problem, while a normal or negative result should suggest a low probability of an alcohol use problem.

Alcohol withdrawal – the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment of Alcohol Scale, Revised (CIWA-Ar)

For those dealing with alcohol withdrawal in Kenya…the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment of Alcohol Scale, Revised (CIWA-Ar) objectifies alcohol withdrawal symptoms to help guide therapy;

  • patients should be scored every 2 hours;
  • frequently treatment begins with benzodiazepines when CIWA-Ar scores reach 8-10, with standing or as needed dosing for scores 10-20
  • consider transfer to the ICU for scores >20.