The detection of at-risk drinking in a teaching hospital

We studied a sample of 302 inpatients from all medical and surgical wards of Westmead Hospital. Twenty-six per cent of patients (47% of men and 4% of women) were identified as past or current "at-risk" drinkers. Current drinkers preponderantly were male and were more likely to be admitted to hospital with trauma. Apart from trauma, alcohol-related disease was not diagnosed commonly, and most drinkers were admitted to hospital with diagnoses that were not related clearly to alcohol abuse. Hospital medical staff members appeared reluctant to address alcohol abuse; a low rate of alcohol problems was identified, and alcohol-related diseases appeared to be underdiagnosed.