title: Usefulness of brief intervention for patients admitted to emergency services for acute alcohol intoxication.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In hospital emergency services, the prevalence of alcohol-related admissions is about 20%, of which 80% display elevated γ-glutamyl transpeptidase or carbohydrate deficient transferring (CDT). We investigated whether intensive case management (ICM) that included cognitive behavior-oriented brief intervention could decrease patient morbidity.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was a 13-month, prospective, exhaustive, longitudinal, controlled trial in an emergency department. Readmission rate of patients previously admitted to the emergency services for the same reason was chosen as an indicator of efficacy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 203 patients were enrolled in the study: 106 in the intervention group, who received ICM, and 97 in the control group, who received standard care. In the control group, 59% of the patients were readmitted for the same reason in the 1-year follow-up against 32% in the intervention group. Thus, the 1-year readmission rate decreased by 45%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ICM in an emergency ward can successfully treat patients with alcohol problems and reduce relapse rate. Alcohol intervention should be part of the standard care in alcohol-related emergency admissions. It treats the alcohol problem early, effectively, and at low cost, and can have a major impact on long-term patient health.
authors.affiliation: CHU de Nancy, Addiction Treatment and Prevention Center, Hôpital de Brabois, Bâtiment Philippe Canton, Rue du Morvan, Vandoeuvre-Les-Nancy, Cedex, France. r.schwan@chu-nancy.fr
authors.forename: Raymund
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schwan
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Di Patritio
authors.forename: Eliane
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Albuisson
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Malet
authors.forename: Geores
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Brousse
authors.forename: Jerome
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lerond
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Laprevote
authors.forename: Jean-Marc
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Boivin
mesh_terms: D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D004635:Emergency Medicine; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004739:England; D000431:Ethanol / Q000506:poisoning*; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration; D010351:Patient Discharge / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010819:Physician's Role; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol