AUTHOR=Varela Rodríguez Carolina , Arias Horcajadas Francisco , Martín-Arriscado Arroba Cristina , Combarro Ripoll Carolina , Juanes Gonzalez Alba , Esperesate Pajares Marina , Rodrigo Holgado Irene , Cadenas Manceñido Álvaro , Sánchez Rodríguez Laura , Baselga Penalva Blanca , Marín Marta , Rubio Gabriel 

TITLE=COVID-19-Related Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Patients With Alcohol Abuse Conditions During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: A Retrospective Cohort Study Using Real World Data From Electronic Health Records of a Tertiary Hospital

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2021.630566

DOI=10.3389/fneur.2021.630566

ISSN=1664-2295

ABSTRACT=Patients with an alcohol abuse disorder exhibit several medical characteristics and social determinants which suggest a greater vulnerability to the SARS-CoV-2 infection and a worse course of the COVID-19 once infected. During the first wave of the COVID-19, most of the countries have register an increase in alcohol consumption. However, studies on the impact of alcohol addiction on the risk of COVID-19 infection are very scarce and inconclusive. This research offers a descriptive observational retrospective cohort study using real world data obtained from the Electronic Health Records. We found that patients with a personal history of alcohol abuse, were 8% more likely to extend their hospitalisation length of stay for one day ([CI95% = 1.04-1.12]), and 15% more likely to extend their ICU length of stay ([CI95% = 1.01-1.30]). They were also 5.47 times more at risk of needing an ICU admission ([CI95% = 1.61-18.57]) and 3.54 times ([CI95% = 1.51-8.30]) more at risk of needing a respirator. Regarding COVID-19 symptoms, patients with a personal history of alcohol abuse were 91% more likely of exhibiting dyspnoea ([CI95% = 1.03-3.55]), and 3.15 times more at risk of showing at least one neuropsychiatric symptom ([CI95% = 1.61-6.17]). In addition, they showed statistically significant differences in the number of neuropsychiatric symptoms developed during the COVID-19 infection. Therefore, we strongly recommend to warn of the negative consequences of alcohol abuse over the COVID-19 complications. For this purpose. Clinicians should systematically assess history of alcohol issues and drinking habits in all patients, especially for those who seek medical advice regarding COVID-19 infection, in order to predict its severity of symptoms and potential complications. Moreover, this information should be included, in a structured field, into the Electronic Health Record to facilitate the automatic extraction of data, in real time, useful to evaluate the decision-making process in a dynamic context.