Laboratory Studies in Acute Alcoholics

Laboratory studies on 109 acutely intoxicated male and female alcoholics admitted to the general medical wards of a community general hospital were undertaken. Initially the program was designed to study the thyroid function of these patients, as a previous report had noted that large numbers of alcoholics were thyroid-deficient. During the study, however, other laboratory examinations, which might be confusing or misleading in alcoholics, were also measured. These additional estimations included the serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT), the serum cholesterol and the serum amylase. No patients were found to be hypothyroid. The results of the tests indicate the need for caution in interpreting SGOT and serum amylase results in acute alcoholics.