Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC 20007, United States.
MedStar Health Research Institute, Washington, DC 20010, United States.
Alcohol Alcohol. 2023 Sep 9;58(5):547-552. doi: 10.1093/alcalc/agad053.
Our aim was to assess the changes in patients presenting with acute alcohol intoxications or positive screens for problem drinking during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to before the pandemic in a seven-hospital health system. A retrospective chart review of emergency department (ED) visits from seven hospitals in the Washington, DC/Baltimore, and MD area from January 2019 to June 2021 is provided. The health system utilizes a validated system for Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for ED patients. We evaluated trends in patients who had a positive SBIRT screen for problem drinking (AUDIT-C score ≥ 3 in women, 4 in men), alcohol misuse (≥5), and those presenting with acute alcohol intoxication before March 2020 and during the early COVID pandemic period. There were 510 648 patients who were screened, ranging from ages of 16 to 95 years during the study period. There was an overall increase in patients who screened positive for problem drinking, alcohol misuse, and acute intoxications. While there was an overall decrease in the total number of ED visits during the start of the pandemic, which later increased near prepandemic levels, alcohol-related presentations as a percentage of total visits increased during the early pandemic period. There was an overall decrease in ED visits during the COVID-19 pandemic study period; problem drinking and acute intoxication presentation held steady, leading to an overall increase in proportion compared to pre-COVID-19 levels. Future research should focus on lessons learned during this time and should navigate the postpandemic care of patients with AUD. There was an increase in the proportion of ED visits for alcohol intoxications and positive screens for problem drinking during the COVID-19 pandemic in our seven-hospital system.
我们的目的是评估在 COVID-19 大流行期间，与大流行前相比，在一个拥有七家医院的医疗系统中，因急性酒精中毒或阳性问题饮酒筛查前来就诊的患者发生的变化。提供了来自华盛顿特区/巴尔的摩和马里兰州七个医院的急诊部（ED）就诊的回顾性图表审查。该医疗系统在 ED 患者中使用了经过验证的用于筛选、简短干预和转介治疗（SBIRT）的系统。我们评估了在 2020 年 3 月之前和 COVID-19 大流行早期期间，有阳性 SBIRT 问题饮酒筛查（女性 AUDIT-C 评分≥3，男性 4）、酒精使用不当（≥5）和急性酒精中毒表现的患者的趋势。在研究期间，有 510,648 名患者接受了筛查，年龄在 16 至 95 岁之间。筛查出有问题饮酒、酒精使用不当和急性中毒的患者人数总体上有所增加。虽然在大流行开始时，ED 就诊总数总体上有所减少，后来又接近大流行前水平，但在大流行早期，酒精相关就诊占总就诊的比例有所增加。在 COVID-19 大流行研究期间，ED 就诊总数总体上有所减少；问题饮酒和急性中毒表现保持稳定，与 COVID-19 前水平相比，总体比例有所增加。未来的研究应该关注这段时间吸取的经验教训，并应在大流行后为 AUD 患者提供护理。在我们的七家医院系统中，COVID-19 大流行期间，因酒精中毒和阳性问题饮酒筛查而就诊的 ED 就诊比例增加。
