BERLIN, July 23 (UPI) -- Alcohol use disorders are often overlooked in patients undergoing surgery although alcohol use can increase complication risk, German researchers said. Anesthesiologist Dr. Claudia D. Spies and her research group at Charite-Universitaetsmedizin Berlin studied 1,556 surgical patients and found a trend of missed opportunities in identifying those at risk. "First, we noted that alcohol use disorders is not diagnosed adequately during preoperative assessment," Spies said in a statement. "Then, even if a finding of alcohol use disorders was made before surgery, preventive measures were not often undertaken. This is significant because patients with alcohol use disorders have three to four times more complications during and around the time of surgery than patients without alcohol use disorders." However,...
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