• James Willey, Peter Kaboli, Andrea Holcombe, Amy M J O'Shea, Tong Yu, Kelby Rewerts, George Bailey, Anindita Bandyopadhyay, Thad Abrams, and Jeydith T Gutierrez.
• Comprehensive Access and Delivery Research and Evaluation (CADRE) Center, Iowa City VA Healthcare System, Iowa City, Iowa, USA.
• J Hosp Med. 2024 Dec 2.

BackgroundAlcohol use disorder (AUD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality that disproportionately affects rural residents and Veterans.ObjectiveTo evaluate the burden of AUD in admissions at rural and urban hospitals within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) comparing patient characteristics, clinical outcomes, and 1-, 3-, and 5-year mortality rates.MethodsRetrospective cross-sectional study of patients admitted to VHA hospitals from 2016 to 2020, with a primary or secondary diagnosis related to AUD. Follow-up mortality data was collected through September 30, 2023.ResultsFrom 2.9 million qualifying admissions, AUD-related diagnoses were present in 14.3% of admitted patients (427,375 admissions among 190,152 unique patients in 129 facilities). Rural hospitals (n = 22) had a significantly higher overall admission rate for AUD-related diagnoses (21.6% vs. 14.8%, p = .011), higher 30-day readmission rates (17.8% vs. 15.3%, p < .001), but lower hospital-level average length of stay (median = 4.3 vs. 5.6, p < .001). Mortality in rural hospitals was lower than urban at 1 year (9.6% vs. 11.4%, p < .001), 3 years (20.7% vs. 23.1%, p < .001), and 5 years (30.4% vs. 32.9%, p < .001).ConclusionsRural VHA hospitals have a higher proportion of patients admitted with AUD-related diagnoses and higher readmission rates, but lower mortality rates. Approximately, one in three patients admitted with an AUD-related diagnosis died within the 5-year follow-up period. The mortality rates observed are extraordinary and deserve urgent attention. A comprehensive plan to address AUD in the Veteran population, including how we approach and engage patients in treatment during hospitalizations with any primary or secondary AUD diagnoses, is needed.© Published 2024. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Journal of Hospital Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Hospital Medicine.

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