Complications of chronic alcoholism that affect critical illness

[An excerpt from the content] The worldwide consumption of alcohol and alcoholism, or alcohol use disorder (defined as a problematic pattern of alcohol use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress by DSM-5) [1], are increasing [2]. This is particularly so among women as the social stigma surrounding drinking declines and alcohol is more readily accessible. Women are less likely to be diagnosed early and more likely to relapse after treatment. Alcoholism is estimated to cause approximately 2.5 million global deaths annually (4 % of all-cause mortality) which mostly ensue from liver disease [2]. Approximately 90 % of alcoholics develop fatty liver, 25 % develop alcoholic hepatitis, 15 % develop cirrhosis and 10 % develop hepatocellular carcinoma [3, 4]. Alcoholic liver disease (ALD), especially cirrhosis, also accounts for increasing numbers of hospital admissions across the world, including ICU admissions [5, 6]. Each year about 26,000 patients with cirrh ..