School of Medicine and Health Sciences Poster Presentations

Epidemiology of Alcohol-Related Visits to United States Emergency Departments, 2001-2010

Poster Number

247

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

3-2016

Abstract

Background: Alcohol intoxication accounts for approximately 1.5% of all emergency department (ED) visits in the United States. In the context of a strained ED system, understanding the epidemiology of alcohol-related ED visits at a national level represents an important area of research.

Objectives: To characterize trends in alcohol-related visits to U.S. EDs from 2001 to 2011.

Methods: A retrospective review of data on national ED visits among patients aged 18 years or older between 2001 and 2011 was conducted using the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS). Alcohol intoxication was defined by either a diagnosis of idiosyncratic alcohol intoxication, acute alcohol intoxication, alcohol abuse, or ethyl alcohol, or by a reason for visit coded in NHAMCS as alcohol-related problems, adverse effects of alcohol, alcoholism, or alcohol detoxification. Demographic characteristics were examined for trends in alcohol-related visits. Trends in resource use were examined. ED length of stay (LOS) was assessed for changes across the study period. We also assessed trends in the total hours spent on ED care for alcohol-related complaints at a national level. Data were grouped into two-year sets to improve statistical power. Proportions were compared using survey-weighted chi square tests, while tests for trend were assessed using survey-weighted logistic regression.

Results: Between 2001-02 and 2010-11, alcohol-related visits increased from 2,459,748 to 3,856,346 (p=0.049). There was no notable increase in proportion of visits across all tested demographic and hospital-level categories. The use of advanced imaging increased 232.2% over the study period (p<0.001), while the mean number of medications provided increased from 1.41 to 1.75 (p=0.016). Overall LOS increased 16.1% (p=0.028), while LOS among admitted patients increased 24.9% (p=0.076). Total alcohol-related hours spent in EDs nationwide increased from 5.6 million in 2001 to 11.6 million in 2010, an increase of 108.5% (p<0.001) compared with an increase in overall ED hours of 54.0% (p<0.001).

Conclusion: Alcohol-related ED visits are increasing at a greater rate than overall ED visits and represent a growing burden in length of stay and resource use.

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Presented at: GW Research Days 2016

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Epidemiology of Alcohol-Related Visits to United States Emergency Departments, 2001-2010

Background: Alcohol intoxication accounts for approximately 1.5% of all emergency department (ED) visits in the United States. In the context of a strained ED system, understanding the epidemiology of alcohol-related ED visits at a national level represents an important area of research.

Objectives: To characterize trends in alcohol-related visits to U.S. EDs from 2001 to 2011.

Methods: A retrospective review of data on national ED visits among patients aged 18 years or older between 2001 and 2011 was conducted using the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS). Alcohol intoxication was defined by either a diagnosis of idiosyncratic alcohol intoxication, acute alcohol intoxication, alcohol abuse, or ethyl alcohol, or by a reason for visit coded in NHAMCS as alcohol-related problems, adverse effects of alcohol, alcoholism, or alcohol detoxification. Demographic characteristics were examined for trends in alcohol-related visits. Trends in resource use were examined. ED length of stay (LOS) was assessed for changes across the study period. We also assessed trends in the total hours spent on ED care for alcohol-related complaints at a national level. Data were grouped into two-year sets to improve statistical power. Proportions were compared using survey-weighted chi square tests, while tests for trend were assessed using survey-weighted logistic regression.

Results: Between 2001-02 and 2010-11, alcohol-related visits increased from 2,459,748 to 3,856,346 (p=0.049). There was no notable increase in proportion of visits across all tested demographic and hospital-level categories. The use of advanced imaging increased 232.2% over the study period (p<0.001), while the mean number of medications provided increased from 1.41 to 1.75 (p=0.016). Overall LOS increased 16.1% (p=0.028), while LOS among admitted patients increased 24.9% (p=0.076). Total alcohol-related hours spent in EDs nationwide increased from 5.6 million in 2001 to 11.6 million in 2010, an increase of 108.5% (p<0.001) compared with an increase in overall ED hours of 54.0% (p<0.001).

Conclusion: Alcohol-related ED visits are increasing at a greater rate than overall ED visits and represent a growing burden in length of stay and resource use.