Alcoholism in the emergency department: an epidemiologic study.

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Epidemiology
• Addiction Medicine

Background:

• Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a prevalent condition.
• Understanding the prevalence of AUD in emergency department (ED) populations is crucial for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the epidemiology of alcoholism among patients presenting to an urban ED via ambulance.
• To identify characteristics associated with alcoholism in this patient group.

Main Methods:

• Prospective enrollment of adult ambulance-borne ED patients over two months.
• Data collection included demographics, prior ED visits, diagnoses, and CAGE questionnaire responses.
• Chi-square analysis was used to compare categorical variables.

Main Results:

• 24% of patients screened positive for alcoholism using the CAGE questionnaire.
• Alcoholic patients were more likely to be male, unemployed, undomiciled, and polysubstance users.
• A blood ethanol level >300 mg/dL strongly predicted a positive CAGE screen (97% predictive value).

Conclusions:

• Alcoholism is highly prevalent in patients presenting to urban EDs via ambulance.
• Healthcare providers should consider alcoholism in this patient population.
• High blood ethanol levels are a significant indicator of potential alcoholism.