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. 2020 Jun 25;55(4):350-353.
doi: 10.1093/alcalc/agaa042.

Complicated Alcohol Withdrawal-An Unintended Consequence of COVID-19 Lockdown

Venkata Lakshmi Narasimha  1 , Lekhansh Shukla  1 , Diptadhi Mukherjee  1 , Jayakrishnan Menon  1 , Sudheendra Huddar  1 , Udit Kumar Panda  1 , Jayant Mahadevan  1 , Arun Kandasamy  1 , Prabhat K Chand  1 , Vivek Benegal  1 , Pratima Murthy  1
Affiliations

Complicated Alcohol Withdrawal-An Unintended Consequence of COVID-19 Lockdown

Venkata Lakshmi Narasimha et al. Alcohol Alcohol. .

Abstract

Aim: To assess the impact of COVID-19-related lockdown in India on alcohol-dependent persons.

Method: We examined the change in the incidence of severe alcohol withdrawal syndrome presenting to hospitals in the city of Bangalore.

Results: A changepoint analysis of the time series data (between 01.01.20 to 11.04.20) showed an increase in the average number of cases from 4 to 8 per day (likelihood ratio test: χ2 = 72, df = 2, P < 0.001).

Conclusion: An unintended consequence of the lockdown was serious illness in some patients with alcohol use disorders.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Change in the number of severe alcohol withdrawal syndrome cases (delirium tremens, seizures and hallucinosis) seen in the emergency department following COVID-19-related lockdown. Blue solid lines show the mean number of visits in each segment during the year 2020; on the evening of 21 March 2020 (red interrupted line).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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