Intake of alcohol and benzodiazepines and reliability of drug history in patients admitted to hospital.

Withdrawal syndromes of both alcohol and benzodiazepines have been recognized increasingly as modifying symptoms of diseases in acute medicine. In 198 consecutive patients admitted for medical or surgical reasons to Oulu University Hospital blood alcohol and urine metabolites of benzodiazepines were measured in samples taken on admission. Based on these measurements out of 198 patients 48 (24.2%) had taken alcohol and/or benzodiazepines. Only alcohol was detected in 17 (8.6%) and only benzodiazepines in 27 (13.6%) patients. Both benzodiazepines and alcohol were found in four (2.2%) patients. When compared with drug history obtained on admission 70.6% of alcohol and 33.3% of benzodiazepine intakes were recorded. No clear withdrawal symptoms were seen in patients during the observation time which varied from 1 to 7 days (mean 2.5 days). Our results show that many patients neglect their drug intakes from drug history on admission. The physician should keep in mind the possibility of withdrawal symptoms in acute medicine.