Pre‐operative alcohol infusion

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Abstract
Summary: The influence of pre‐operative alcohol infusion on the requirement for analgesic supplementation with fentanyl in chronic alcoholic patients was studied. The chronic alcoholic was defined as a person having a regular daily alcohol consumption of over 70 g pure alcohol for at least 3 years. The mean annual consumption in the patients studied was 52 litres pure alcohol. A positive correlation between requirement for fentanyl and alcohol consumption was found. The amount of fentanyl required to achieve satisfactory analgesia (the ‘saturation dose’) was significantly higher (61%) in alcoholic than in non‐alcoholic patients. Once stable anaesthesia was achieved the maintenance dose was the same in alcoholic and non‐alcoholic patients. Preoperative infusion of alcohol significantly reduced the amount of fentanyl required to achieve anaesthesia in both alcoholic and non‐alcoholic patients (by 25% and 29% respectively). Furthermore it prevented some of the catecholamine mediated effects, such as increase in blood pressure, heart rate and blood glucose.

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