Background: Acute alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) is a common complication in hospitalized patients, but its occurrence and severity is difficult to predict based on clinical indicators alone. Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) is an abnormal phospholipid incorporated into erythrocyte lipid bilayers in proportion to levels of alcohol exposure, with a half-life of 5 to 10 days. We sought [...]

Case Presentation: The patient is a 32-year-old male with a history of alcohol abuse who presented with two days of right upper quadrant pain and non-bloody emesis. He denied any prior diagnosis of liver disease (although alluded to a family history of cirrhosis), renal disease, confusion, or jaundice. He reported drinking a fifth of liquor [...]

Case Presentation: 60-year-old woman with a twelve-year history of presumed gastroparesis of unclear etiology, was admitted for worsening chronic abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting with unintentional weight loss of over 80 pounds over a year. Evaluation included normal laboratory findings and abdominal imaging. Upper endoscopy showed mild mucosal erythema with normal biopsies of the stomach. [...]

Case Presentation: A 55 year old male with a history of hypertension, hyperlipidemia and significant history of alcohol abuse presented after presyncope with subsequent fall and head trauma. On presentation he was confused and dysarthric. He complained of generalized malaise for the past two weeks associated with nausea and poor nutritional intake. He denied fever, [...]