TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2010//
TI  - Significant reductions in drinking following brief alcohol treatment provided in a hepatitis C clinic
JO  - Psychosomatics
A1  - Dieperink, Eric
A1  - Ho, Samuel B.
A1  - Heit, Sara
A1  - Durfee, Janet M.
A1  - Thuras, P.
A1  - Willenbring, Mark L.
SP  - 149
EP  - 156
VL  - 51
IS  - 2
N2  - BACKGROUND: Although the hepatitis C virus (HCV) alone increases the risk of cirrhosis, alcohol use is thought to act synergistically with HCV to significantly hasten the development of fibrosis. OBJECTIVE: The authors assessed the impact of brief medical counseling or integrated-care approaches to lessen or eliminate alcohol use in these vulnerable patients. METHOD: This retrospective study describes the effect of brief alcohol treatment delivered in a hepatitis clinic on drinking outcomes and antiviral treatment eligibility: 47 heavy-drinking chronic hepatitis C patients received a brief intervention performed by medical clinicians, with follow-up by a psychiatric nurse-specialist. RESULTS: At the last follow-up, 62% of patients reported >50% drinking reduction; these included 36% who achieved abstinence. Only 6% of patients were excluded from antiviral therapy. DISCUSSION: Brief treatment addressing heavy drinking delivered by hepatitis clinicians with psychiatric-specialist follow-up was associated with abstinence or a significant reduction in alcohol consumption in over 50% of patients.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0033-3182
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1176/appi.psy.51.2.149
ID  - ref1
ER  -