Prevalence of alcohol related admissions to general medical units

The prevalence of alcohol related admissions to hospitals in Manitoba was examined in an investigation limited to the general medicine units of four representative hospitals within the province. All admissions during one-month periods were closely examined. In order to determine if an admission was related to alcohol, the investigators obtained permission from each patient to ask the attending physician to rate the degree to which they felt the admission was alcohol related, and intensively reviewed all charts. The percentage of alcohol related admissions was found to range from 6.38 percent to 14.93 percent on medical units. The disorders which alcohol related patients presented on admission tended to differ from those in the not-related category. At all hospitals, disorders of the gastrointestinal system were in the majority for the alcohol related group, while the not-related group presented more difficulty in the area of cardiovascular disorders. The cost which is associated with these alcohol related admissions is large, the highest being $61,050.00 for a one-month period in one of the hospitals surveyed. The findings clearly indicate that in Manitoba, health care facilities and health care professionals are very much involved in problems related to alcohol. The findings of this study indicate that the problem is with us and we should make every effort to ensure proper and effective care, and to establish systems for the identification and referral of alcohol related admissions.