Feasibility and Effectiveness of a Specialized Brief Intervention for Hazardous Drinkers in an Emergency Department.

Alcohol use and its consequences represent an important public health problem. As well as alcohol dependence, hazardous drinking also contributes to a high burden in terms of morbidity and mortality. To improve these patients' prognosis and decrease associated social and health care costs, it is necessary to increase early detection, intervention and treatment for these problems. For these reasons, SBIRT programmes (Screening Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment) have been developed, evaluated and shown to be effective, particularly in primary care and general practice. Nevertheless, effectiveness of SBIRT in emergency departments (ED) has not been clearly established.

The investigators aimed to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of an SBIRT programme in the ED of a tertiary hospital.

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Alcohol Drinking Behavior Drinking Behavior

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

About this study

The investigators conducted a randomized controlled trial to study the feasibility and efficacy of an SBIRT programme for hazardous drinkers presenting in an ED. All patients older than 18 years old attending the emergency department were potentially eligible. Cognitively impaired or medically unstable patients were excluded. Patients seeking treatment for alcohol use were also excluded. Patients were randomized to two groups, with the control group receiving two leaflets - one regarding alcohol use, and the other giving information about the study protocol. The intervention group received the same leaflets as well as a brief motivational intervention on alcohol use; and, where appropriate, a referral to specialised treatment. The primary outcomes were the proportion of hazardous drinkers measured by AUDIT-C scale and the proportion of patients attending specialised treatment at 1.5 and 4.5 months and 1 year.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

All patients aged 18 or older attending to the emergency department were potentially eligible patients
Patients with an AUDIT-C score higher than 6 points for men and 5 for woman were invited to participate

Exclusion criteria

Cognitive impairment
Medically unstable
Patients explicitly demanding alcohol treatment

Treatment and study plan

Brief intervention

Behavioral

Patient's received a brief intervention on alcohol use based on motivational techniques, and a referral to treatment when indicated.

Other names: Referral to treatment

Primary outcomes

Proportion of Risky Drinkers Measured by AUDIT-C

Time frame: 6 weeks

We assessed participants with AUDIT-C (a tool to assess alcohol consumption). Main outcome 1 is the proportion of patients who score more than 6 i men and 5 in women in this scale.

AUDIT-C is the short version of the AUDIT scale (Alcohol use disorders identification test). Consists of a three items scale ( frequency of alcohol consumption, amount of alcohol units per day of consumption and frequency of binge drinking), and ranges from 0 (abstinence) to 12 (very high alcohol use). The higher the score is, the more important the alcohol use is, and more risk of presenting an alcohol use disorder.
Proportion of Patients Attending to Specialized Treatment

Time frame: 6 weeks

Proportion of patients that initate specialized treatment to reduce alcohol use

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Hospital Clinic of Barcelona

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Prevenció Dels Problemes Relacionats Amb Alcohol a urgències.

Acronym: PPAU

Important dates

Study start: 2016
Primary completion: 2018
Study completion: 2018
First posted: Sep 6, 2017
Registry last updated: May 15, 2020

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.

Completed