• N B Figlie, S C Pillon, J Dunn, and R Laranjeira.
• Alcohol and Drug Research Unit, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
• Sao Paulo Med J. 2000 Sep 7; 118 (5): 139143139-43.

ContextAlthough the CAGE questionnaire is one of the most widely used alcohol screening instruments, it has been criticized for not identifying people who are drinking heavily or who have alcohol related problems but do not as yet show symptoms of alcohol dependence. The AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test) questionnaire was developed by WHO as a screening instrument specifically designed to identify problem drinkers, as well as those who were already dependent on alcohol.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to use the AUDIT and Fagerström questionnaires in a general hospital inpatient population to measure the frequency of problem drinking and nicotine dependence, and to see if levels varied between medical speciality.DesignRetrospective cross-sectional study.SettingFederally funded public teaching hospital.Sample275 inpatients from both genders.Main MeasurementsSocio-demographic data, AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) and Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence.ResultsWe interviewed 275 inpatients, 49% of whom were men and 51% women. Thirty-four patients were identified as "cases" by the Audit questionnaire; 22% of the male patients and 3% of the females. Just over 21% of inpatients were current smokers. The gastroenterology (26%) and general medicine (16%) inpatient units had the largest number of individual cases.ConclusionsOnly by knowing the prevalence of alcohol abuse/dependence and nicotine dependence in a general hospital can we evaluate the need for a specialized liaison service to identify and treat these patients.

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