Alcoholic Hallucinosis among Servicemen in Cyprus.

Introduction ALCOHOLIC hallucinosis in Servicemen has. been infrequently mentioned in the literature. Wallis (1957, 1958) described six patients with brief episodes of clouding of consciousness and hallucinosis; only one of these had both auditory~md visual hallucinations. The present study was prompted by the observation that the syndrome /, was a common mode of presentation of alcoholics admitted to British Military Hospitals in Cyprus, and that it differed in many r~spects fJ;'()m that seen in civilian' practice. . ., Material and Method The admission records of the British Military Hospital, Dhekelia, and the Military Hospital, Nicosia, for 1958, 1959 and the first quarter, of 1960, were examined and the number of chronic alcoholic admissions ascertained;, The practical definition of chronic alcoholism adopted was that of habitual drinking to such an extent as to warrant hospitalization for treatment of its medical and psychiatric ill-effects. These patients were then 'grouped according to year, military rank and mode of presentation. In addition, the retiologica1 and clinical features of those presenting with hallucinosis were studied (these patieritswere all seen by the author). '