[The diagnosis "alcoholism" in the hospital--analysis of the frequency of admission and length of stay for 1970-1988].

During 18 years occurred an enormous (fivefold) increase of the country-wide registered frequency of in-patient cases with the diagnosis alcoholism. This development is connected with a decrease of the length of stay. Fife hypotheses to these findings are discussed. The dynamic is different by age, sex and hospital wards. The various length of stay indicates different contents of treatment, from the detoxication with the shortest length of stay (0-3 days) to the narcotherapy (several months) to the long-stay patients (several years).