Hospitalized after long days of drinking parties
Just because of the simmering pain that seemed to be stomach pain, Mr. N.V.P (35 years old, Ho Chi Minh City) repeatedly bought medicine to get through it. Until one day, after a drinking session with friends, the pain suddenly burst out fiercely, spreading to his back, making him unable to bear it and had to be hospitalized for emergency treatment.
According to Mr. P.'s account, before being admitted to the hospital, he had a habit of drinking alcohol and beer regularly, each time he drank could be up to dozens of cans of beer. However, this time the pain was no longer simmering but increased rapidly and violently, spreading to his back, causing his body to become stiff. When taken to the hospital for emergency treatment, Mr. P. fainted from pain. After examination, X-rays and tests, doctors determined that the condition was severe and forced him to be transferred to the intensive care area.
Not only Mr. P., patient H.T (42 years old, Ho Chi Minh City) was also admitted to the hospital in a state of severe abdominal pain in the epigastric region, continuous vomiting, pain spreading to the back and not subsided even though she had self-medicated with pain relievers at home.
According to the patient, about 2-3 days before being hospitalized, he participated in many drinking parties with friends, ate many fried and grilled dishes. After the last drinking party, the patient began to have a dull pain in the upper abdomen, thinking it was stomach pain, so he was subjective. However, the pain quickly increased sharply, accompanied by severe vomiting, exhaustion, forcing the family to take him to the emergency room at night.
Test results showed that pancreatic enzymes were many times higher than normal. Doctors diagnosed the patient with acute pancreatitis due to alcohol and beer and prescribed hospitalization for intensive treatment, complete fasting, intravenous fluids, pain relief and close monitoring of the risk of complications.
Alcohol consumption habits cause hospitalization rates to increase at the end of the year
Recorded at the Department of Gastroenterology, Nguyen Tri Phuong Hospital (HCMC), in the last days of the year, the hospital continuously received many cases of acute pancreatitis, in which many cases progressed severely and had complications.
BS.CKII Nguyen Do - Deputy Head of the Department of Gastroenterology, Nguyen Tri Phuong Hospital, said that acute pancreatitis is still one of the dangerous digestive diseases, which can progress from mild to very severe, even life-threatening if not treated promptly.
The three most common causes of acute pancreatitis in Vietnam and the Asia-Pacific region are gallstones, alcohol and high triglycerides in the blood, a form of fat metabolism disorder," said Dr. Nguyen Do. It is noteworthy that in recent months, especially during the period near Tet, cases of acute pancreatitis due to high triglycerides combined with alcohol have a clear increase.
According to doctors, acute pancreatitis does not always manifest strongly from the beginning. The most common symptom is severe abdominal pain accompanied by frequent vomiting, in which vomiting does not reduce pain, a sign that helps distinguish it from common digestive diseases such as gastritis or food poisoning.
There are cases that progress very quickly, if treated slowly, it can lead to multiple organ failure and death," warned Dr. Nguyen Do. In fact, in just the past week, the department has received 5-7 cases of severe acute pancreatitis, including cases requiring intensive care to filter blood and replace plasma.
According to Dr. Nguyen Do, hemodialysis is not widely applied but only indicated in cases with severe warning signs such as organ failure, hemodynamic disorders, triglycerides not decreasing after 24 hours of internal medicine treatment or progressive infection, abdominal distension.
Notably, alcohol and blood fat disorders are not only cumulative risk factors but can also amplify the severity of acute pancreatitis. People with metabolic diseases such as fatty liver and diabetes, when drinking alcohol, have a significantly higher risk of severe pancreatitis.
Treatment is only a temporary solution. In the long term, patients need to clearly recognize the danger of alcohol and beer, especially for those who have had pancreatitis or metabolic disorders," Dr. Nguyen Do emphasized.
