QJM : monthly journal of the Association of Physicians
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Alcohol consumption in the UK has been increasing steadily. We prospectively studied the burden on hospital services caused by overt alcohol misuse, in an inner-city hospital in north-west England. All Accident & Emergency (A&E) patients were assessed to determine whether their hospital attendance was alcohol-related, and whether this resulted in admission and/or generated new out-patient appointments. ⋯ Over 2800 new out-patient visits were likely to have been generated over an 18-month period from initial attendance with an alcohol-related problem, mostly for orthopaedic clinics. The burden placed by overt alcohol-related problems on hospitals is enormous, both in terms of the emergency and out-patient services. The implementation of education, screening and intervention strategies in A&E departments, and employment of key trained personnel, should be considered, to optimize the clinical management of these patients.