Going under the knife? Alcohol and cigarettes a toxic mix

Patients who drink and smoke are more likely to suffer complications after medical surgery, doctors at the Kenyatta National Hospital have found. 

They warn that alcohol and tobacco are a dangerous mix for patients seeking emergency operations, as alcohol tends to suppress the body’s immunity.

Senior doctors confirmed that alcohol and surgery are a bad combination, especially for young men. Science has long suspected that alcohol interferes with the  body’s defences, but what maybe the first local study on thesubject has directly linked substance use and poor recovery at the country’s main referral facility.

A study by four senior doctors published in The East African medical Journal shows the general rate of infection after surgery at KNH was very high, with up to three patients out of 10 at risk.

It found that 30 per cent of surgery patients were at risk of infection, which could lead to other illnesses, longer stay in hospital or even death.

“Infection rate was highest in those who consumed alcohol and cigarettes, at 25 per cent,” say the study by Dr S E Miima, Prof Joseph Oliech, Prof P L Ndaguatha and Prof E N Opot.

The team had reviewed 120 patients who had undergone emergency abdominal surgery. They reported that surgical site infections were worryingly high at the hospital, with young men who used alcohol and tobacco at the greatest risk.

They called for more public education targeting young men on the harmful effects of alcohol, especially before seeking a major surgery.

An earlier study by the University of Southern Denmark in Copenhagen showed taking as little as two alcoholic drinks could make all the difference in recovery after surgery.

The investigation reported in the UK Daily Mail had examined the results of 55 studies on pre-operation drinking and post-operation complications occurring up to 30 days after surgery.

“Patients who drank heavily leading up to surgery, including those who abused alcohol or were dependent on it, were more than twice as likely to die in the month after their procedures than abstainers,” reported the Daily Mail.

For planned or elective surgeries, it has been suggested that patients stop drinking before an operation. However, this may not be in emergency surgeries, which form the bulk of operations at KNH.

In his maiden visit to the hospital, Health Cabinet Secretary Cleopa Mailu was shocked to find only one functional theatre sterilising machine instead of the installed six.

Early this month, the World Health Organisation issued new guidelines to stop surgical infections and avoid the development of drug resistant germs.

The 29 suggestions made by WHO include simple precautions such as ensuring that patients bathe or shower before surgery.

The guidelines also recommend that antibiotics be used to prevent infections before and during surgery only. “Antibiotics should not be used after surgery, as is often done,” WHO said.