title: Assessment of alcohol histories obtained from patients with liver disease: opportunities to improve early intervention.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Alcohol is an important primary and comorbid cause of liver injury in patients referred for investigation and management of liver disease. Early assessment and documentation of alcohol consumption is therefore essential, and recommended in both general practice and hospital settings.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the extent and accuracy of documentation of alcohol consumption in patients referred for evaluation of liver disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. The medical records of all patients interviewed were reviewed to obtain information from the referral letter and the hepatology consultations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eighty-three patients were surveyed. Only 14 referrals had an informative alcohol history, despite 27 patients admitting risky alcohol consumption at the initial hepatology consultation. Ninety per cent of initial consultations had an informative alcohol history documented, whereas only 56% of patients attending a follow-up appointment had informative documentation. Assessment of alcohol consumption was comparable between the hepatology consultation and the structured questionnaire, but four subjects had substantially different alcohol histories. Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test identified all patients reporting harmful alcohol consumption on the questionnaire.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Hazardous alcohol use is prevalent in subjects attending hepatology clinics, but informative alcohol histories, which are crucial to patient management, are rarely documented in referrals. Screening tools improve documentation and accuracy of alcohol histories, and their use by general practitioners and hospital clinicians would improve detection rates of hazardous drinking and allow earlier intervention. Systematic use of screening tools in hepatology clinics will provide opportunities for education and reinforce recommendations to reduce hazardous or harmful alcohol consumption.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Centre for Liver Disease Research, School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Translational Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Fagan
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Irvine
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bates
authors.forename: L U
authors.initials: LU
authors.lastname: Horsfall
authors.forename: G F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Feeney
authors.forename: E E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Powell
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control; D061345:Early Medical Intervention / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000592:standards; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards
keywords: AUDIT; BMAST; hepatology outpatient clinic; referral; screening