title: Brief interventions for risk consumption of alcohol at an emergency surgical ward.
abstract: Patients admitted to an emergency surgical ward were screened for alcohol problems and randomized between an extensive alcohol counseling and a brief assessment followed by feedback of risky alcohol consumption. Some 165 patients were assessed for risk consumption and followed up 6 to 12 months, and it was found that patients in both interventions significantly reduced the amount they drank per occasion although they drank as often as before. The patients had also moved to a stage more ready to change. No differences in effect were found between the interventions. A brief assessment with feedback about risk consumption can be done on an emergency surgical ward by the surgical staff with a few hours of training and may reduce risky alcohol consumption significantly.
authors.affiliation: Addiction Center North, Clinic Magnus Huss, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. lars.forsberg@bekl.csso.sll.se
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Forsberg
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ekman
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Halldin
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ronnberg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D013502:General Surgery; D006748:Hospital Departments; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors