Alcohol intoxication and alcoholism in acute male medical admissions

In order to assess alcohol related morbidity in male hospital patients we studied all acute male admissions over a period of three months. 9.3% of patients were found to have detectable alcohol on admission (level greater than 4 mmol/l). A total of 28.3% of admissions were judged to be alcoholic by questionnaire (Michigan Alcohol Screening Test). These results suggest that acute intoxication in male hospital admissions is not as common as previously recorded. The prevalence of alcoholism, however, was disturbingly high and has significant implications for in-patient management.