Emergency Department Frequent Users for Acute Alcohol Intoxication
Introduction: A subset of frequent users of emergency services are those who use the emergency department (ED) for acute alcohol intoxication. This population and their ED encounters have not been previously described. Methods: This was a retrospective, observational, cohort study of patients presen...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
eScholarship Publishing, University of California
2018-02-01
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| Series: | Western Journal of Emergency Medicine |
| Online Access: | https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3km108tw |
| _version_ | 1818507924466565120 |
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| author | Lauren R. Klein Marc L. Martel Brian E. Driver Mackenzie Reing Jon B. Cole |
| author_facet | Lauren R. Klein Marc L. Martel Brian E. Driver Mackenzie Reing Jon B. Cole |
| author_sort | Lauren R. Klein |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction: A subset of frequent users of emergency services are those who use the emergency department (ED) for acute alcohol intoxication. This population and their ED encounters have not been previously described. Methods: This was a retrospective, observational, cohort study of patients presenting to the ED for acute alcohol intoxication between 2012 and 2016. We collected all data from the electronic medical record. Frequent users for alcohol intoxication were defined as those with greater than 20 visits for acute intoxication without additional medical chief complaints in the previous 12 months. We used descriptive statistics to evaluate characteristics of frequent users for alcohol intoxication, as well as their ED encounters. Results: We identified 32,121 patient encounters. Of those, 325 patients were defined as frequent users for alcohol intoxication, comprising 11,370 of the encounters during the study period. The median maximum number of encounters per person for alcohol intoxication in a one-year period was 47 encounters (range 20 to 169). Frequent users were older (47 years vs. 39 years), and more commonly male (86% vs. 71%). Frequent users for alcohol intoxication had higher rates of medical and psychiatric comorbidities including liver disease, chronic kidney disease, ischemic vascular disease, dementia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, history of traumatic brain injury, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. Conclusion: In this study, we identified a group of ED frequent users who use the ED for acute alcohol intoxication. This population had higher rates of medical and psychiatric comorbidities compared to non-frequent users. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T22:24:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-003fa8b9c5234a0b84f592f2590b1765 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1936-9018 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T22:24:48Z |
| publishDate | 2018-02-01 |
| publisher | eScholarship Publishing, University of California |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Western Journal of Emergency Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-003fa8b9c5234a0b84f592f2590b17652022-12-22T01:31:13ZengeScholarship Publishing, University of CaliforniaWestern Journal of Emergency Medicine1936-90182018-02-0119210.5811/westjem.2017.10.35052wjem-19-398Emergency Department Frequent Users for Acute Alcohol IntoxicationLauren R. KleinMarc L. MartelBrian E. DriverMackenzie ReingJon B. ColeIntroduction: A subset of frequent users of emergency services are those who use the emergency department (ED) for acute alcohol intoxication. This population and their ED encounters have not been previously described. Methods: This was a retrospective, observational, cohort study of patients presenting to the ED for acute alcohol intoxication between 2012 and 2016. We collected all data from the electronic medical record. Frequent users for alcohol intoxication were defined as those with greater than 20 visits for acute intoxication without additional medical chief complaints in the previous 12 months. We used descriptive statistics to evaluate characteristics of frequent users for alcohol intoxication, as well as their ED encounters. Results: We identified 32,121 patient encounters. Of those, 325 patients were defined as frequent users for alcohol intoxication, comprising 11,370 of the encounters during the study period. The median maximum number of encounters per person for alcohol intoxication in a one-year period was 47 encounters (range 20 to 169). Frequent users were older (47 years vs. 39 years), and more commonly male (86% vs. 71%). Frequent users for alcohol intoxication had higher rates of medical and psychiatric comorbidities including liver disease, chronic kidney disease, ischemic vascular disease, dementia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, history of traumatic brain injury, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. Conclusion: In this study, we identified a group of ED frequent users who use the ED for acute alcohol intoxication. This population had higher rates of medical and psychiatric comorbidities compared to non-frequent users.https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3km108tw |
| spellingShingle | Lauren R. Klein Marc L. Martel Brian E. Driver Mackenzie Reing Jon B. Cole Emergency Department Frequent Users for Acute Alcohol Intoxication Western Journal of Emergency Medicine |
| title | Emergency Department Frequent Users for Acute Alcohol Intoxication |
| title_full | Emergency Department Frequent Users for Acute Alcohol Intoxication |
| title_fullStr | Emergency Department Frequent Users for Acute Alcohol Intoxication |
| title_full_unstemmed | Emergency Department Frequent Users for Acute Alcohol Intoxication |
| title_short | Emergency Department Frequent Users for Acute Alcohol Intoxication |
| title_sort | emergency department frequent users for acute alcohol intoxication |
| url | https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3km108tw |
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