TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2018//
TI  - Alcohol-related harm in emergency departments: a prospective, multicentre study
JO  - Addiction
A1  - Egerton-Warburton, Assoc Prof Diana
A1  - Gosbell, Andrew
A1  - Moore, Katie
A1  - Wadsworth, Angela
A1  - Richardson, Drew
A1  - Fatovich, Daniel M.
SP  - 623
EP  - 632
VL  - 113
IS  - 4
N2  - BACKGROUND: Emergency department alcohol-related presentation data are not routinely collected. It is likely that previous research has underestimated the numbers of patients presenting with alcohol-related conditions. <br><br>DESIGN: Multicentre, prospective study. Patients were prospectively screened for alcohol-related presentations over a seven-day period in December 2014. Part one involved screening to determine alcohol positive ED presentations, and data collection of patient demographic and clinical information. Part two involved a consent-based survey conducted with patients aged ≥ 14 years to perform Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores. SETTING: Eight EDs in Australia and New Zealand, representing differing hospital role delineations. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 8652 patients aged ≥ 14 years attended and 8435 (97.5%) were screened. MEASUREMENTS: The main outcome measure was the proportion of patients who had an alcohol-related presentation termed 'alcohol positive', using predefined criteria. It included injuries, intoxication, medical conditions and injuries caused by an alcohol-affected third party. Secondary outcomes included demographic and clinical information, the type of alcohol-related presentations and AUDIT scores. <br><br>FINDINGS: 801 (9.5%; 95%CI, 8.9%-10.1%) presentations were identified as alcohol positive, ranging between 4.9% and 15.2% across sites. Compared with alcohol negative patients, alcohol positive patients were more likely to be male (OR 1.90) (95% CI 1.63-2.21), younger (median age 37 years vs 46 years, P<0.0001), arrive by ambulance (OR 1.94) (95% CI 1.68-2.25) or police/correctional vehicle (OR 4.56) (95% CI 3.05-6.81) and require immediate treatment (OR 3.20) (95% CI 2.03-05.06). The median AUDIT score was 16 (IQR 10-24). <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Almost one in ten presentations to emergency departments in Australia and New Zealand are alcohol related.<br><br>This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0965-2140
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/add.14109
ID  - ref1
ER  -