Alcohol in the hands of children and adolescents tends to end up with hospital stay more often – experience from Bratislava region

Czech version

Authors: J. Gécz ¹; M. Brenner ¹; J. Buchanec ²
Authors‘ workplace: Oddelenie urgentného príjmu, Národný ústav detských chorôb, Bratislava, Slovensko ¹; Klinika detí a dorastu Jesseniovej lekárskej fakulty Univerzity Komenského a Univerzitnej nemocnice, Martin, Slovensko ²
Published in: Čes-slov Pediat 2020; 75 (3): 172-177.
Category: Original Papers

Overview

Introduction: Alcohol flowing in the veins of children and adolescents is a years-lasting problem not only in Slovakia. Even though consumption of alcohol decreased in Slovakia during last decades and reaches european average level, the number of drunk children at the Department of pediatric emergency, National institute of children’s diseases (DEP NICD) in Bratislava rises annualy.

Objective: The aim of this work is to express our experience with taking care of inebriated children and emphasize the need to prevent children and adolescents from drinking alcohol.

Material and methods: The cohort consists of all children who visited DPE NICD after alcohol intake in the time period from November 2010 to December 2018. We were interested in their age, sex, blood level of alcohol, additional poisonings, type of alcohol and patient’s destiny after examination at the DPE.

Results: In the mentioned period of more than eight years we have treated 829 children after alcohol intake at the DPE NICD. 425 boys and 404 girls. In the year 2018 it has been 163 children which is almost twice as much as in the year 2011, when there were 85. More than a half of all children admitted previous experience with alcohol. Average age was 15.6 years, the youngest intentional drinkers were 9-years old. Average level of blood alcohol was 1.91 g/l.

Conclusion: The number of children treated for alcohol abuse is rising in the past years. During the period of 8 years it has almost doubled. It is therefore our duty to act preventive and talk about this problem.

Keywords:

alcohol – inebriation – child

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