Death and disability may result from DTs or seizures without medical care. Several factors are related to severity of alcohol withdrawal: high amounts of alcohol being consumed in the weeks prior to treatment, the severity of the last withdrawal episodes, and the number of previously treated or untreated withdrawal episodes. Other factors such as increasing age; the patient’s general health, including nutri¬tional status; the presence of co-occurring med¬ical, surgical, and psychiatric disorders; and the use of medications (prescription, over-the-counter, or herbal) also can amplify severity of withdrawal symptoms. Early proper medical management of alcohol withdrawal reduces the probability of these complications, assuming early recognition.