Nursing care of Alcohol withdrawal patient with pneumonia and respiratory failure

Abstract

This study aimed to study the nursing care of alcohol withdrawal patients with pneumonia
and respiratory failure.
Results: A case study of a 67 year old Thai woman who was admitted to the hospital on
November 9, 2021 with drowsiness and not waking up 10 minutes before coming to the hospital.
The patient had history of drinking alcohol regularly, diabetes disease and high blood pressure. At
first administration, the patient was very tired and showed 90% of the oxygen levels. There for
patient was received intubation. The patient had hypoglycemia (16 mg/dl) and then she was
received medical care to prevent tissue hypoxia, controlling blood sugar levels and fixing the
imbalance of water and mineral substances. The patient is confused and restless. After that patient
was send to computed tomography of the brain and the result found that the patient had lacuna
infarction. The patient was treated for alcohol withdrawal syndrome by diazepam 10 mg
intravenously every 4 hours plus vitamin B1 100 mg once a day for 3 days. After 2 days of nursing
care, off the ventilator and changed to high flow oxygen (HFNC). Patient started sipping water and
able to eat food, respectively. Patient was received pulmonary rehabilitation and effective phlegm
coughing training. The patient was safe from respiratory failure. Patient was received motivation to stop drinking alcohol. After that patient was discharged on November 15, 2021, total of hospital
administration for 6 days.