Pragmatic procedures for detecting and documenting alcoholism in medical patients.
Although alcoholics are known to utilize a disproportionate amount of medical care, hospital patients are not routinely screened for alcoholism. A sample of 310 randomly selected patients from two hospitals were administered a structured diagnostic interview. More than one-third (35%) of the men and 14% of the women met DSM-III criteria for a current alcohol use disorder and an additional 27% of the men and 9% of the women met criteria for an alcohol use disorder in remission. The practicality and efficiency of structured interviews is discussed along with the potential of a small subset of items to serve as a screen for alcoholism.
Hoffmann
N G
NG
Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, St. Paul.
Harrison
P A
PA
Hall
S W
SW
Gust
S W
SW
Mable
R J
RJ
Cable
E P
EP
D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010343:Patient Admission; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012017:Referral and Consultation