title: Alcohol-related diseases in general hospital patients.
abstract: To determine the prevalence and spectrum of alcohol-related diseases in a general hospital inpatient population, data of 1288 patients newly admitted to a city general hospital, who had been examined with regards to alcoholism, were surveyed. The sample consisted of 625 medical and 663 surgical patients aged 18-64 years. In 21% (29.3% of the men and 9.4% of the women), inpatient treatment was due to an alcohol-related disorder. The highest occurrence was found in the 35-55 year-olds. Frequently diagnosed disorders in alcohol-dependent patients included delirium tremens (12.8%), seizures (11.4%), head injuries (9.4%) and cirrhosis of the liver (8.1%), whereas alcohol abusers had often been injured. Excluding patients with alcohol-related diseases decreases the proportion of men in the sample by 6.2%. The prevalence of physically-damaged alcoholic patients in general hospitals suggests that preventative measures, such as consultation services, could be applied efficiently in this setting.
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Psychiatrie, Medizinische Universität zu Lübeck, Germany.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gerke
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Hapke
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Rumpf
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: John
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000430:Alcohol Withdrawal Delirium / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006769:Hospitals, General / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008104:Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*