The alcoholic lung disease: historical background and clinical features

Kiriakos Karkoulias, Haralampos Tsitsaras, Dimitrios Patouchas, Fotis Sampsonas, Dimostenis Likouras, Alexander Kaparianos, Kostas Spiropoulos

Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pneumology, University Hospital of Patras, Greece

Key words: alcohol; lung; history; physiology.

Summary. The purpose of this review article is to prove the damage that alcohol causes to the respiratory system. We will make a brief review of alcohols history in the course of the centuries till nowadays. The problem of addiction to alcohol (alcoholism) will be examined for several countries.

Alcohol’s metabolism is another topic to be discussed parallel to its pharmacological action. In addition, alcohol’s impact on the respiratory system varies from damaging the mucociliary system to the regulation of breathing and from the sleep apnea syndrome to diffusion disorders. “Alcoholic lung disease” constitutes a syndrome despite the fact that the damage of the lung due to concurrent smoking and drug use is often indistinguishable.

Correspondence to K. Spiropoulos, University Hospital of Patras, 26500 Rio, Patras, Greece. E-mail: k-spiropoulos@hotmail.com

Received 16 November 2006, accepted 17 October 2007