Universal screening of acute medical admissions for excess alcohol consumption: What’s the misuse?
Summary
Landmark 3-year study indicates that systematically screening all admissions to an acute medical unit for alcohol-related issues is achievable and effective, reports the Journal of Hepatology
In a landmark study of over 50,000 hospital admissions, investigators demonstrated the feasibility of introducing universal screening for alcohol problems to identify patients at risk. They showed that patients can be easily categorized based on a simple risk score to identify people with high rates of emergency department attendance, recurrent hospital admissions, and high risk of alcohol-related liver disease.
These patients can be selectively targeted with effective treatments for alcohol misuse, potentially reducing the burden of alcohol-related harm including alcoholic liver disease.
