ALCOHOL abuse was linked to one in 15 surgical deaths reported in Scotland last year, a report has revealed.
The Scottish Audit of Surgical Mortality (SASM) found that alcohol was a factor in the deaths of 194 patients in 2008. Of these, alcohol played a "significant role" in 147 patients, contributing to 112 deaths and causing 35.
The report found "ac
ute alcohol intoxication" was a factor in the deaths of 31 patients under the care of surgeons.
Experts said the figures showed for the first time the impact of alcohol abuse on the work of surgeons in Scotland.
The audit identified 3,461 deaths under surgical care last year from all groups, apart from cardiac and obstetric surgery. More than 500,000 operations were carried out in Scotland.
SASM chairman John Orr said this was the first time questions of alcohol abuse had been posed in relation to surgery. "Most surgeons are aware that alcohol abuse contributes to death, particularly around cancer and road traffic accidents," he said.
If someone had been abusing alcohol, it could lead to greater complications during surgery. "If you have a patient who has been drinking and needs urgent surgery then it's a risk factor for the operation and the anaesthetic," he said.
Dr Nick Pace, also from SASM, added: "There may have been incidences where, because of chronic alcohol abuse, you start getting liver damage. When you get liver damage, you start getting problems with blood clotting and it just complicates an already complicated situation."
Dr Pace said chronic drinkers were also more likely to get pneumonia after surgery, and more prone to infections.
Yesterday's interim report for 2008 also highlighted that, in 15 per cent of deaths, auditors had highlighted "an area of concern or for consideration", or Acon.
The most common Acon was linked to patients being inappropriately placed on a surgical ward. This was followed by the fact that in retrospect, the operation should not have been done, and delays in referral.
In 2008, the report said, there were 86 cases where Acons may have contributed to death – down from 137 in 2007 – and two where it caused death, both linked to the fitting of feeding tubes. This is down from 11 the previous year. This number is expected to rise before the final report is ready in November.
The report also found that in 30 per cent of patients who died after surgery, infections such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile were a factor, up from 29 per cent in 2007 and 26 per cent the previous year.
