Effectiveness of Brief Alcohol Intervention in Reducing Alcohol Consumption Among Patients With Alcohol-Related...

Facial trauma is a frequent presentation to the emergency department following alcohol-related injuries. Brief alcohol intervention (BAI) is a form of a motivational interview which is implemented in the postinjury phase to educate patients on the detrimental effects of their alcohol drinking behavior and reduce their future consumption. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to assess the impact of BAI on alcohol drinking behavior in the emergency department setting.

An extensive systematic literature review was implemented from 21 October 2020 to 23 November 2020. All clinical studies that reported the outcomes of brief alcohol intervention on alcohol consumption in patients who attended the emergency department with facial injuries were included in the systematic review. The data sources utilized include Google Scholar, PubMed, ISI, Scopus, EMBASE, SIGLE, Virtual Health Library, NYAM, ClinicalTruaks.Gov, Controlled Trials (mRCT), and ICTRP.

The current systematic review included 8 articles encompassing 941 patients. Of the included patients, 304 (32.3%) patients were subjected to BAI, while the remaining 637 (67.7%) were not subjected to BAI. BAI significantly decreased the amount of alcohol consumption 3 months after intervention (SMD -0.596; 95% CI -1.067, -0.126; P = .013). Patients who received BAI were 1.89 times more likely to reduce their alcohol consumption (OR 1.89; 95% CI 0.59, 6.11; P = .29).

BAI is an efficacious motivational tool for patients with facial trauma in the emergency setting. It can effectively reduce the amount and rate of alcohol consumption after facial trauma in the short-term. However, a higher level of evidence is required to reach long-term conclusions.