Over 600,000 Alcohol-Related Hospitalizations In England

Over 600,000 Alcohol-Related Hospitalizations In England

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Main Category: Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs
Article Date: 25 Jun 2012 - 11:00 PDT

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An article published online in the Emergency Medicine Journal reports that almost 640,000 hospital admissions and nearly 2 million emergency care department (ER) visits in England and Wales per year could be alcohol-related.

The researchers invited people who required treatment at Bristol's Royal Infirmary (BRI) in the UK to participate in their study, and recruited a total of 774 eligible patients, from almost 1,000 adults, who visited the hospital's emergency care unit over a four-week period in June 2009. The figures were extrapolated and the recruitment period was split into 14 periods of 12 hours to cover for all relevant attendances and all participants remained anonymous.

The participants were surveyed by an independent researcher, who first questioned each participant as to whether they consumed alcohol prior to visiting the emergency care before asking about their average weekly alcohol intake. The team also asked the treating clinicians whether a patient's attendance in the emergency department was directly, indirectly or unrelated to alcohol in their judgment.

Overall 149 patients (19%) reported they had consumed between half a unit and 50 units of alcohol prior to visiting the ER, which is about one in five patients. 111 patients or 14% reported their attendance was alcohol-related and one in three were admitted to hospital. From the 87 patients, or 11%, who reported their injuries were sustained as a result of alcohol involvement, just over half believed their injuries were caused by someone else who had consumed alcohol, whilst the remainder admitted consuming more than the maximum recommended weekly units.

According to the clinicians, overall 21%, or 1-in-5 ER visits, were either directly (14%) or indirectly (7%) associated with alcohol. Furthermore, they believed that about 1-in-10 or 8% of attendances were caused due to violence evoked through alcohol.

The researchers point out that their findings may not apply in other areas and conclude:

"If these figures are extrapolated, the number of patients presenting with alcohol related injury [exceeds] 7,000 attendances to the [BRI] annually, or nearly 2 million patients every year in England and Wales."

Alcohol Facts:

• It is estimated that the overall alcohol-related damage costs society up to £25 billion each year.
• Alcohol-related hospital admissions in the UK increased by a total of 69% since 2002/3 to 863,000 in 2007/8.
• Each year, the NHS spends almost £3 billion on alcohol related injuries, with related crime and disorder just over £7 billion.

Written by Petra Rattue
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

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MediLexicon International Ltd © 2004-2012 All rights reserved.
MNT (logo) is the registered EU trade mark of MediLexicon Int. Limited.