Consultation-liaison psychiatry in general hospitals: improvement in physicians' detection rates of alcohol use disorders.
BACKGROUND
In the general hospital setting, alcohol-use disorders very commonly remain undetected.


OBJECTIVE
The authors hypothesized that including a consultation-liaison (C-L) psychiatrist in primary-care rounds would improve detection rates of alcohol-use-disorders.


METHODS
Patients (N=165) on two medical wards were screened by means of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Diagnoses were confirmed with the International Diagnostic Checklists and compared with physicians' detection rates. C-L intervention included demonstrations of standardized diagnostic procedures in order to change primary-care physicians' behavior.


RESULTS
Primary-care-physicians' detection rates of alcohol-use disorders increased significantly after implementation of the C-L service, whereas no significant differences were observed on the control ward.


CONCLUSIONS
Tentative data thus underscore the efficacy of C-L psychiatry for detection and intervention in alcohol-use disorders.
Diehl
Alexander
A
Department of Addictive Behavior and Addiction Medicine, Division of Biostatistics, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany. a.diehl@klinikum-braunschweig.de
Nakovics
Helmut
H
Croissant
Bernhard
B
Reinhard
Iris
I
Kiefer
Falk
F
Mann
Karl
K
D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006769:Hospitals, General / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012907:Smoking