Abstract

VILLAR LUIS, Margarita Antonia; BARBOSA, Sara Pinto; LUCHESI, Luciana Barizon  and  SANTOS, Jair Lício Ferreira. Alcohol dependence syndrome in emergency services: assessment protocol for the professional nursing practice. Enferm. glob. [online]. 2016, vol.15, n.41, pp.78-92. ISSN 1695-6141.

This is a quantitative study carried out in emergency services of Ribeirao Preto, a city located in the countryside of Sao Paulo state. The aim of this study was to assess signs and symptoms of the Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome (AWS) by the nursing team with the use of a protocol. Data collection took place over 642 on duty hours. Of the 463 participants, 297 had AUDIT >7, and of these, 59 (12.7%) had AUDIT >20, which indicates the occurrence of SAA and, due to this, were included in this investigation. Concerning the signs, of the 59 users, 8 were unable to tell the time of hospitalization, 7 could not say what year or month it was, and 13 seemed uneasy. In relation to the physical signs of the dependence, 17 had signs of tremor, 8 mentioned to have had seizures. The emergency services may be privileged places to identify symptoms of alcohol abuse and dependence and the use of the nursing assessment protocol may be a useful strategy in the monitoring and intervention.

Keywords : Alcohol; Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome; Emergency Services; Professional Nursing Practice.

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