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Citation |
Tjipto AC, McD Taylor D, Liew H. Emerg. Med. Australas. 2006; 18(2): 125-130. |
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Affiliation |
Emergency Department, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia. |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 2006, Australasian College for Emergency Medicine and Australasian Society for Emergency Medicine, Publisher John Wiley and Sons) |
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DOI |
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PMID |
16669937 |
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Abstract |
Objectives: To determine the prevalence of young ED patients at risk from hazardous alcohol consumption, to identify high-risk patient subgroups and evaluate the feasibility of use of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) in this setting. Methods: We undertook a cross-sectional survey of 336 ED patients aged 18-30 years, inclusive. All were breathalysed prior to self-administering the AUDIT. A 'positive' AUDIT score (>/=8) defined hazardous alcohol consumption. AUDIT scores were correlated with sex and trauma diagnosis. Results: One hundred and thirty-one (39.0%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 33.8-44.5) patients were classified as AUDIT-positive. Men were significantly more likely to be AUDIT-positive (49%vs 23%, P < 0.001) and had significantly higher total AUDIT scores (P < 0.001) than women. Trauma patients were significantly more likely to be AUDIT-positive (P < 0.001) and had significantly higher AUDIT scores than non-trauma patients (P < 0.001). Of the six patients who recorded a positive breath alcohol reading, all were AUDIT-positive. One hundred (76.3%, 95% CI 68.0-83.1) AUDIT-positive patients did not report others being concerned about their drinking or had not been given advice to cut down. Conclusion: It is feasible to use the AUDIT screening tool in the ED to identify those at risk from hazardous drinking. In our ED there is a high prevalence of hazardous alcohol consumption in young adult patients, many of whom have not previously received advice to cut down on their drinking. Language: en |