Citation

Smoger SH, Looney SW, Blondell RD, Wieland LS, Sexton L, Rhodes SB, Swift RM. J. Addict. Dis. 2002; 21(2): 65-73.

Affiliation

Department of Veteran Affairs, Louisville, KY, USA. Shsmog01@netscape.net

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1300/J069v21n02_06

PMID

11916373

Abstract

Little information exists about alcohol use within health facilities. We sought to determine alcohol use and control in acute-care hospitals by mailing a questionnaire to a convenience sample of Pharmacy Directors of 24 hospitals in two regions. Of 23 responders, in-patient alcohol was dispensed by 21 (91%) within the last 5 years. Of these 21, both beverage and intravenous alcohol were dispensed by 13 (62%), only beverage alcohol by seven (33%), and only intravenous alcohol by one (5%). No institutional policies regarding alcohol dispensing existed in 16 (70%) hospitals. Alcohol was frequently used as a patient courtesy (14/20, 70%), and to prevent withdrawal (7/20, 35%). All pharmacies procured intravenous alcohol in a formal process, but 60% (12/20) obtained beverage alcohol informally. Alcohol is widely dispensed with few guidelines in this sample of acute-care hospitals. Additional research on therapeutic efficacy, consequences, and institutional oversight of alcohol in hospitals is needed.

Language: en