Trends in Alcohol Intoxication Cases and Common Complications at Kitwe Teaching Hospital for the Years 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2017, Kitwe, Zambia

Background: Alcoholism is a major public health problem. It is associated with unhealthy effects and increased risk of injuries, trauma, violence and death of self or others. The rise in alcohol consumption rates, especially among youths, is alarming and requires immediate attention. Alcohol   intoxication is detrimental to health as intoxication has complications related to the gastrointestinal system, neurological, soft tissue injury and death   Methods: A descriptive retrospective study on Trends in Alcohol Intoxication and Common Complications was conducted at Kitwe Teaching Hospital (KTH), Kitwe, Zambia. Information was collected from patient files and registers admitted to KTH for alcohol intoxication in the years 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2017. 113 of 235 files were available for review. Ethical clearance and Permission was granted by the ethical committee of the Tropical Disease Research Center (TDRC) and KTH respectively. Data analysis was done using SPSS V 20 and Microsoft Excel 2016 frequencies and percentages. Results: The average age of participants admitted for alcohol intoxication was 31. Neurological and Gastrointestinal complications were the most common at 25%, followed by fatalities (18%), while only 1% had soft tissue injuries.30% however had no complications. The most common gastrointestinal complication was gastritis (46%) followed by Mallory Weiss tear (18%), then hypoglycemia (14%), hepatitis (11%), pellagra (7%), gastric ulcers (4%). One patient (1%) had an independent outcome of appendicitis which literature has not documented as a direct outcome of alcohol intoxication. More than half of those with neurological complications presented with seizures (52%), followed by those with psychosis (24%), then encephalopathy (10%), neuropathy (7%) and coma (7%).  Conclusion: The findings from this study reviews alarming levels of complications of alcohol intoxication and is a public health problem in Kitwe. Therefore, sensitization campaigns about alcohol abuse need to be scaled up in order to curb the vise. Keywords: Alcohol intoxication(AI), Common Clinical Complications, Kitwe Teaching Hospital (KTH)