Skip Navigation
American College of Physicians Logo
  • Subscribe
  • Submit a Manuscript
  • Sign In
    Sign in below to access your subscription for full content
    INDIVIDUAL SIGN IN
    Sign In|Set Up Account
    You will be directed to acponline.org to register and create your Annals account
    INSTITUTIONAL SIGN IN
    Open Athens|Shibboleth|Log In
    Annals of Internal Medicine
    SUBSCRIBE
    Subscribe to Annals of Internal Medicine.
    You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your purchase.
Annals of Internal Medicine Logo Menu
  • Latest
  • Issues
  • Channels
  • CME/MOC
  • In the Clinic
  • Journal Club
  • Web Exclusives
  • Author Info
Advanced Search
  • ‹ PREV ARTICLE
  • This Issue
  • NEXT ARTICLE ›
Summaries for Patients |6 February 2007

A Brief Intervention for Hospitalized Patients with Unhealthy Alcohol Use Free

Article, Author, and Disclosure Information
Author, Article, and Disclosure Information
  • The summary below is from the full report titled “Brief Intervention for Medical Inpatients with Unhealthy Alcohol Use. A Randomized, Controlled Trial.” It is in the 6 February 2007 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine (volume 146, pages 167-176). The authors are R. Saitz, T.P. Palfai, D.M. Cheng, N.J. Horton, N. Freedner, K. Dukes, K.L. Kraemer, M.S. Roberts, R.T. Guerriero, and J.H. Samet.


Summaries for Patients are a service provided by Annals to help patients better understand the complicated and often mystifying language of modern medicine.
Summaries for Patients are presented for informational purposes only. These summaries are not a substitute for advice from your own medical provider. If you have questions about this material, or need medical advice about your own health or situation, please contact your physician. The summaries may be reproduced for not-for-profit educational purposes only. Any other uses must be approved by the American College of Physicians.
×
  • ‹ PREV ARTICLE
  • This Issue
  • NEXT ARTICLE ›
Jump To
  • Full Article
  • FULL ARTICLE
  • FULL ARTICLE
    • What is the problem and what is known about it so far?
    • Why did the researchers do this particular study?
    • Who was studied?
    • How was the study done?
    • What did the researchers find?
    • What were the limitations of the study?
    • What are the implications of the study?
  • Figures
  • Tables
  • Supplements
  • Audio/Video
  • Summary for Patients
  • Clinical Slide Sets
  • CME / MOC
  • Comments
  • Twitter Link
  • Facebook Link
  • Email Link
More
  • LinkedIn Link
  • CiteULike Link

What is the problem and what is known about it so far?

Unhealthy alcohol use damages health. It can hurt relationships; increase risks for accidents and violence; and causes problems with the liver, brain, and heart. A form of unhealthy alcohol use known as “risky drinking” does not always signal alcohol dependence, but it does put people at risk for future problems. Several standard questions can help identify people who have such alcohol problems as risky drinking or dependence. Brief counseling by doctors or other health care professionals in outpatient settings can help people cut back or stop drinking if they are drinking too much. It is not known whether brief counseling delivered to patients during a hospital stay can reduce unhealthy alcohol use.

Why did the researchers do this particular study?

To find out if brief counseling delivered during hospitalization decreases alcohol use in patients who reported risky drinking and helps link dependent patients to services to help with alcohol problems.

Who was studied?

341 patients drinking risky amounts who were hospitalized in an urban hospital. The researchers defined risky drinking as more than 14 drinks per week or 5 or more drinks per occasion for men younger than 66 years and as more than 11 drinks per week or 4 or more drinks per occasion for all women and for men 66 years and older.

How was the study done?

The researchers used standard questionnaires to ask patients about alcohol use. They used this information to determine whether people had alcohol dependence in addition to risky drinking behaviors. Next, about half of the patients received either 30 minutes of alcohol-related counseling by trained counselors before they left the hospital. The other half of the patients were simply told that they could discuss their alcohol use with their doctors. Twelve months later, the researchers contacted patients to see whether their alcohol intake decreased. They also asked patients with alcohol dependence whether they had received any specific care to help with their drinking problem since hospital discharge.

What did the researchers find?

Of the 341 patients in the study, 261 had alcohol dependence. The rest drank risky amounts but were not dependent. Patients who received counseling were not more likely to have reduced alcohol intake at 12 months than those who did not receive in-hospital counseling. Alcohol-dependent patients who received brief counseling in the hospital also were not more likely to have received alcohol-related care than those who did not receive the in-hospital counseling.

What were the limitations of the study?

Patients who did not receive counseling were told that they could discuss their alcohol use with their doctors. This is more alcohol-related advice than typically received in hospital settings and could at least partly explain the lack of difference between the groups.

What are the implications of the study?

Brief counseling for hospitalized patients who drink unhealthy amounts of alcohol is not sufficient for reducing alcohol use or for linking dependent patients to assistance. Other strategies for reducing unhealthy alcohol use are required.

Clinical Slide Sets

Terms of Use

The In the Clinic® slide sets are owned and copyrighted by the American College of Physicians (ACP). All text, graphics, trademarks, and other intellectual property incorporated into the slide sets remain the sole and exclusive property of the ACP. The slide sets may be used only by the person who downloads or purchases them and only for the purpose of presenting them during not-for-profit educational activities. Users may incorporate the entire slide set or selected individual slides into their own teaching presentations but may not alter the content of the slides in any way or remove the ACP copyright notice. Users may make print copies for use as hand-outs for the audience the user is personally addressing but may not otherwise reproduce or distribute the slides by any means or media, including but not limited to sending them as e-mail attachments, posting them on Internet or Intranet sites, publishing them in meeting proceedings, or making them available for sale or distribution in any unauthorized form, without the express written permission of the ACP. Unauthorized use of the In the Clinic slide sets will constitute copyright infringement.

This feature is available only to Registered Users

Subscribe/Learn More
Submit a Comment

0 Comments

PDF
Not Available
Citations
Citation

A Brief Intervention for Hospitalized Patients with Unhealthy Alcohol Use. Ann Intern Med. ;146:I–22. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-146-3-200702060-00001

Download citation file:

  • Ris (Zotero)
  • EndNote
  • BibTex
  • Medlars
  • ProCite
  • RefWorks
  • Reference Manager

© 2019

×
Permissions

Published: Ann Intern Med. 2007;146(3):I-22.

DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-146-3-200702060-00001

©
2007 American College of Physicians
0 Citations

See Also

Brief Intervention for Medical Inpatients with Unhealthy Alcohol Use: A Randomized, Controlled Trial
View MoreView Less

Related Articles

Brief Intervention for Medical Inpatients with Unhealthy Alcohol Use: A Randomized, Controlled Trial
Annals of Internal Medicine; 146 (3): 167-176
Hot Tea Consumption and Its Interactions With Alcohol and Tobacco Use on the Risk for Esophageal Cancer: A Population-Based Cohort Study
Annals of Internal Medicine; 168 (7): 489-497
Prevalence of and Risk Factors for Hepatic Steatosis in Northern Italy
Annals of Internal Medicine; 132 (2): 112-117
Annals for Hospitalists Inpatient Notes - Clinical Pearls—A Middle-Aged Man With Pneumonia and Elevated High-Sensitivity Troponin Levels
Annals of Internal Medicine; 169 (8): HO2-HO3
View MoreView Less

Journal Club

Review: Adjunctive corticosteroids reduce mortality and clinical failure in adult inpatients with CAP
Annals of Internal Medicine; 168 (8): JC40
Review: Adjunctive corticosteroids do not reduce mortality or clinical failure in adult inpatients with CAP
Annals of Internal Medicine; 168 (8): JC41
Review: In adult inpatients with mild or moderate acute pancreatitis, early feeding may reduce length of stay
Annals of Internal Medicine; 167 (8): JC44
Guideline: A hemoglobin threshold of 7 to 8 g/dL is recommended for hemodynamically stable hospitalized patients
Annals of Internal Medicine; 166 (4): JC15
View MoreView Less

Related Point of Care

Alcohol Use
Annals of Internal Medicine; 164 (1): ITC1-ITC16
Community-Acquired Pneumonia
Annals of Internal Medicine; 163 (7): ITC1
Community-Acquired Pneumonia
Annals of Internal Medicine; 151 (7): ITC4-1
Alcohol Use
Annals of Internal Medicine; 150 (5): ITC3-1
View MoreView Less

Related Topics

Hospital Medicine
Tobacco, Alcohol, and Other Substance Abuse

Hospital Medicine, Tobacco, Alcohol, and Other Substance Abuse.

PubMed Articles

[New Forms of Cooperation Between The Outpatient and Inpatient Sectors: An Innovative Funding Concept].
Gesundheitswesen 2019.
Idiopathic Generalized Exfoliative Dermatitis and Association with Antihypertensive Drugs and Statins: A Retrospective Case-Control Study.
Dermatology 2019.
View More

Results provided by: PubMed

CME/MOC Activity Requires Users to be Registered and Logged In.
Sign in below to access your subscription for full content
INDIVIDUAL SIGN IN
Sign In|Set Up Account
You will be directed to acponline.org to register and create your Annals account
Annals of Internal Medicine
CREATE YOUR FREE ACCOUNT
Create Your Free Account|Why?
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×
The Comments Feature Requires Users to be Registered and Logged In.
Sign in below to access your subscription for full content
INDIVIDUAL SIGN IN
Sign In|Set Up Account
You will be directed to acponline.org to register and create your Annals account
Annals of Internal Medicine
CREATE YOUR FREE ACCOUNT
Create Your Free Account|Why?
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×
link to top

Content

  • Home
  • Latest
  • Issues
  • Channels
  • CME/MOC
  • In the Clinic
  • Journal Club
  • Web Exclusives

Information For

  • Author Info
  • Reviewers
  • Press
  • Readers
  • Institutions / Libraries / Agencies
  • Advertisers

Services

  • Subscribe
  • Renew
  • Alerts
  • Current Issue RSS
  • Latest RSS
  • In the Clinic RSS
  • Reprints & Permissions
  • Contact Us
  • Help
  • About Annals
  • About Mobile
  • Patient Information
  • Teaching Tools
  • Annals in the News
  • Share Your Feedback

Awards and Cover

  • Personae (Cover Photo)
  • Junior Investigator Awards
  • Poetry Prize

Other Resources

  • ACP Online
  • Career Connection
  • ACP Advocate Blog
  • ACP Journal Wise

Follow Annals On

  • Twitter Link
  • Facebook Link
acp link acp
silverchair link silverchair

Copyright © 2019 American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.

Print ISSN: 0003-4819 | Online ISSN: 1539-3704

Privacy Policy

|

Conditions of Use

This site uses cookies. By continuing to use our website, you are agreeing to our privacy policy. | Accept
×

You need a subscription to this content to use this feature.

×
PDF Downloads Require Access to the Full Article.
Sign in below to access your subscription for full content
INDIVIDUAL SIGN IN
Sign In|Set Up Account
You will be directed to acponline.org to register and create your Annals account
INSTITUTIONAL SIGN IN
Open Athens|Shibboleth|Log In
Annals of Internal Medicine
PURCHASE OPTIONS
Buy This Article|Subscribe
You will be redirected to acponline.org to sign-in to Annals to complete your purchase.
CREATE YOUR FREE ACCOUNT
Create Your Free Account|Why?
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×
Access to this Free Content Requires Users to be Registered and Logged In. Please Choose One of the Following Options
Sign in below to access your subscription for full content
INDIVIDUAL SIGN IN
Sign In|Set Up Account
You will be directed to acponline.org to register and create your Annals account
Annals of Internal Medicine
CREATE YOUR FREE ACCOUNT
Create Your Free Account|Why?
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×