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The burden of alcohol misuse on the emergency department

Mark John Hannon1, L C Luke

  • 1markjhannon2002@yahoo.com

Irish Medical Journal
|September 16, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Alcohol-related issues significantly impact hospital Emergency Departments (EDs), accounting for 14.66% of attendances. This places a considerable strain on hospital resources, including admissions and outpatient appointments.

Area of Science:

  • Public Health
  • Healthcare Management
  • Addiction Medicine

Background:

  • Alcohol-related problems pose a significant burden on healthcare systems.
  • Emergency Departments (EDs) are often the first point of contact for individuals with alcohol-related issues.
  • Understanding the scope of this impact is crucial for resource allocation and intervention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify the impact of alcohol-related problems on the Emergency Department (ED) at Cork University Hospital (CUH).
  • To evaluate the non-acute consequences of alcohol-related issues within the hospital setting.
  • To assess the strain placed on EDs and overall hospital services by alcohol-related attendances.

Main Methods:

  • Random sampling of 100 patient ED records from three distinct study periods.
  • Individual examination of patient records to determine the rate of alcohol-related attendances.
  • Analysis of admission rates and outpatient appointment data for alcohol-related cases.

Main Results:

  • Alcohol-related attendances constituted 14.66% of all ED attendances during the study periods.
  • A significant proportion of these patients required admission (22.73%) or an outpatient department (OPD) appointment (27.27%).
  • These findings align with previous large-scale studies on the impact of alcohol on healthcare services.

Conclusions:

  • Alcohol-related attendances place a substantial strain on EDs and the broader hospital system.
  • The high rates of admission and OPD appointments underscore the non-acute impact of alcohol misuse.
  • Effective management strategies are needed to mitigate the healthcare burden associated with alcohol-related problems.

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