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Monday, February 4, 2008

Doctors warn of alcohol risk to patients facing surgery
Alok Jha
February 4 2008

Patients due for surgery should control the amount of alcohol they drink beforehand, doctors have warned. A new study shows drinking even moderate amounts prior to surgery could slow down recovery and weaken the immune system.

Claudia Spies, an intensive care specialist at the Charité University hospital in Berlin, said: "A significantly high rate of complications can develop in patients who consume alcohol at levels that are less than excessive."

She said that around 20% of adults admitted to hospital drink three beers or two glasses of wine every day for a prolonged period, and they were more likely to fall victim to pneumonia or heart muscle disease or suffer complications such as bleeding after surgery. "In addition," Spies said, "some 50% of patients who are committed to hospitals after an accident suffered their injuries under the influence of alcohol. Consequently, the rate of immune-system complications in emergency medicine is also very high."
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