A Brief Intervention on Alcohol Use Disorder Is Associated With Treatment Access for Inpatients With...

Area of Science:

• Hepatology
• Addiction Medicine
• Transplantation

Background:

• Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) is a leading cause for liver transplantation in the U.S.
• Treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD) is recommended for ALD patients but is often underutilized.

Purpose of the Study:

• Identify predictors of AUD treatment in hospitalized ALD patients.
• Evaluate the impact of AUD treatment on 30-day readmission, return to drinking, and 1-year transplant-free survival.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study of 109 patients hospitalized with ALD and AUD (2018-2020).
• AUD treatment defined as medication, residential, outpatient, or support group participation within 90 days of discharge.
• Exclusion of patients deceased or lost to follow-up at 90 days.

Main Results:

• 51% of patients received AUD treatment; younger age, gastroenterology/hepatology consults, addiction psychiatry consults, and brief AUD interventions predicted treatment.
• Brief AUD intervention showed the strongest association with receiving treatment (AOR, 18.19).
• Patients receiving AUD treatment had improved transplant-free survival (HR, 0.44; P=0.04).

Conclusions:

• Brief interventions for AUD are strongly associated with treatment uptake in ALD patients.
• Integrating brief interventions into care may improve AUD treatment rates and patient outcomes.
• Further research should focus on implementing and evaluating brief intervention strategies for AUD in ALD populations.