Clinical Case 2

You are the registrar in charge of ED overnight and have been called into resus to assist with an aggressive patient. He is well known to the department due to alcohol misuse and repeated attendances with acute AWS.

The patient had stopped drinking abruptly the day before, when he was found outside his flat behaving strangely and brought to the department by the police. He is having frank hallucinations and being restrained by police. The police state that the patients partner at the scene said he had stopped drinking abruptly 48 hours ago due to a lack of funds.

After completing an A-E assessment you are confident his presentation is due to Delirium Tremens.