Substance abuse treatment and emergency department utilization among a cohort of HIV-infected persons with alcohol problems.
We examined the association between substance abuse treatment services and emergency department (ED) utilization among participants in the HIV-Alcohol Longitudinal Cohort study of HIV-infected persons with a history of alcohol problems. A standardized questionnaire was administered to 350 subjects inquiring about demographics, substance use, use of substance abuse treatment services, and ED attendance. We operationally defined substance abuse treatment services as: stable, unstable, or none. The outcome, ED attendance, defined as presenting to an ED without subsequent hospitalization, occurred in 101 (28.8%) subjects in the past 6 months. Stable substance abuse treatment was significantly associated with lower odds of ED attendance (adjusted odds ratio; 95% CI): (0.5; 0.3-0.9). The relationship between substance abuse treatment and HIV-infected individuals' use of health care services merits additional attention. Substance abuse treatment may present an opportunity to impact health care utilization patterns of HIV-infected persons with a history of alcohol problems.
D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D001900:Boston / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D014600:Utilization Review / Q000706:statistics & numerical data