Home > Significant reduction in alcohol-related admissions to an intensive care unit in Dublin.

Larkin, CM and Fagan, C (2015) Significant reduction in alcohol-related admissions to an intensive care unit in Dublin. Irish Journal of Medical Science, 184, (3), pp. 697-700.


Background

In 2008, we conducted an audit in our general intensive care unit (ICU) which demonstrated a high workload from alcohol-related admissions which represented 12 % of total admissions and 16.8 % of total available bed days at that time.

Aims

To repeat the audit 5 years later in 2013 to assess the current workload from alcohol-related admissions and whether this had increased or decreased in the intervening time period.

Methods

We retrospectively collected data from every admission to our 17-bed general ICU for the 6-month period from June 1 2013 to November 30 2013. We identified all admissions that were related to alcohol misuse. Their admission diagnosis, age, gender, ICU length of stay, APACHE 2 score (Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation 2) and 30-day mortality were recorded. The results of the 2013 audit were then compared with data from the 2008 study.

Results

There were 30 % less alcohol-related admissions to our ICU in 2013 compared to the same period in 2008. The study group had a longer length of stay on average but a lower mortality than the control group.

Conclusion

There has been a significant reduction in the ICU workload from alcohol-related admissions in our general ICU in the past 5 years.

Item Type
Article
Publication Type
Irish-related, Article
Drug Type
Alcohol
Intervention Type
Harm reduction
Date
2015
Page Range
pp. 697-700
Publisher
Springer
Volume
184
Number
3
EndNote
Accession Number
HRB (Available)

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