[Factors associated with utilization of hospital emergency services by alcoholic patients in a follow-up study of 18 months].
BACKGROUND
This paper assesses the use of hospital emergency services by alcoholics in clinical treatment for a period of 18 months and looks for possible sociodemographic and clinical explanatory variables associated with use of those services.


METHODS
A prospective study of a cohort of male alcoholics (n = 137) which began medical treatment because their alcoholism in outpatient or inpatient facilities. Information was assembled by means of a structured interview on sociodemographic and clinical variables, including the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-60).


RESULTS
Sixty-five percent of alcoholics (n = 88) attended the emergency services at least once during the 18 months of follow-up, and 25% (n = 34) did use them more than three times. The politomous logistic regression models point to the age (OR = 0.95; 95% CI = 0.92-0.98); MAST score (OR = 1.1; 95% CI = 1.0-1.2); and employment status (unemployed vs. employed, OR = 2.1; 95% CI = 1.0-4.4) as the main predictors for heavy attendance of emergency service.


CONCLUSIONS
The relevance in this study of age, employment status, and alcohol-related problems experienced (MAST), as well as taking into account that 36% of attended emergencies were because drunkenness or demanding disintoxication treatment, point to the non-sanitary problems which emergency services might be looking after, at least for some alcoholics whom do not seem to adhere to regular treatment programs.
Servicio de Psiquiatría, Hospital Santiago Apóstol, Osakidetza-Servicio Vasco de Salud, Vitoria.
E
E
Aldama
J
J
Ariño
J
J
Ballesteros
M
M
Gutiérrez
D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011446:Prospective Studies
Factores asociados a la utilización de los servicios de urgencias hospitalarios por enfermos alcohólicos en un estudio de seguimiento a 18 meses.