title: Frequency of alcohol and smoking cessation counseling in hepatitis C patients among internists and gastroenterologists.
abstract: Given the overwhelming evidence that both alcohol consumption and smoking accelerate the progression of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-induced liver disease, we evaluated the frequency of alcohol and smoking counseling of patients with HCV-induced liver disease by their primary care internists and gastroenterologists. One hundred and twenty-three medical records of consecutive patients with HCV-induced liver disease referred by an internist to a gastroenterologist for its management were reviewed. Patient gender, race, history of and counseling against alcohol and tobacco use by a physician and a gastroenterologist were obtained. A database was created using Microsoft Excel. There were 105 African-Americans, 12 Caucasians and six patients of other races/ethnicities. Forty-six (37%) patients were daily tobacco users and 34 (28%) patients were daily alcohol consumers. There was a statistically significant difference in the frequencies of alcohol (P = 0.0002) and smoking cessation (P = 0.0022) between gastroenterologists and internists. This study reveals that internists and gastroenterologists, alike, inadequately counsel patients with hepatitis C about tobacco and alcohol use.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology and Liver Disease, George Washington University Hospital, 1320 N. Veitch Street Apt 1308, Arlington, VA 22201, United States. tanu.chandra@gmail.com
authors.forename: Tanu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chandra
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reyes
authors.forename: Huy
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Borum
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003376:Counseling; D018450:Disease Progression; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016540:Smoking Cessation