Bier & Gezondheid http://www.bierengezondheid.com/index.php/articles/en/cid=2/aid=2963/ SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH alcohol and body 25/08/2008 NO ALCOHOL BEFORE THE OPERATION Drinking alcohol, even in small amounts, before a surgical operation, may delay recovery and weaken the immune system. Such the conclusion of Claudia Spies, intensive care specialist at Berlin University Hospital Charité. According to Dr. Spies, about one admitted patient in five is in the habit of drinking three glasses of beer or two glasses of wine over a considerable period. They are also more often the victim of lung infections or heart disease, or presented other complications such as post-op haemorrhage. It was also established that a good half of all patients admitted after an accident were under the influence of alcohol, with the outcome that the number of complications of the immune system in emergency cases is very high. These findings have since been confirmed by Elisabeth Kovacs from the hospital of Loyola University Illinois (U.S.): acute exposure to alcohol is harmful for the function of the immune system against infection. Acute means a single drinking bout with more than four alcohol units for women and with more than five alcohol units for men. The German researchers’ findings were corroborated by tests with mice: exposed to alcohol, the immune system of the mice produced many more chemical substances (cytokines), which means that the immune system was busy fighting one or another serious infection. Claudia Spies therefore advocates restraint in drinking patterns before a surgical operation and for volunteering honest information about drinking patterns, so anaesthetists and surgeons can take due account. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research; Vol 32, Issue 2, pp. 331-338; February 2008.