• Selma H Bouthoorn, Tjeerd van der Ploeg, Nina E van Erkel, and Nico van der Lely.
• Department of Pediatrics, Reinier de Graaf Hospital, Delft, Netherlands. S.Bouthoorn@rdgg.nl
• Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2011 Mar 1;50(3):244-51.

ObjectiveTo investigate acute medical complications of alcohol intoxication among adolescents presenting to Reinier de Graaf Hospital, a major nonacademic hospital in Delft, the Netherlands.MethodsThe frequency of reduced consciousness, hypothermia, electrolyte disturbances, hypoglycemia, and acidosis along with alcohol intoxication was retrospectively studied in the medical records of patients aged 11 to 17 years admitted between January 1, 2000, and April 30, 2010.ResultsReduced consciousness (45%) and hypothermia (43.1%) were the most common clinical findings. More boys than girls experienced hypothermia (P = .028), probably because of the higher blood alcohol concentration level ( P = .026), which was associated with lower temperature (Pearson's r = -.37; P < .001). The most frequent electrolyte disturbance was hyperchloremia (31.1%), followed by low bicarbonate (22%), hypokalemia (11.9%), and hypernatremia (7.7%). Strikingly, none of the patients in this study suffered hypoglycemia. On the contrary, 13.6% of the patients were slightly hyperglycemic. Mild acidosis, both metabolic and respiratory, was observed among 28.8% of the patients, although the metabolic component predominated.ConclusionsAcute medical complications because of alcohol intoxication appeared to be mild, and most remarkably none of the patients experienced hypoglycemia.

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