[Investigation of patients suspected of drinking, who visited emergency department, and their negative influence on emergency medical system].

Abstract

We investigated the nature of patients who have a pathological drinking problem visiting the emergency department (ED). During the investigation period, 107 (1.2%) of 8,812 referred patients, including children, were suspected of having consumed alcohol by the medical staff in the ED on the basis of the interview, the smell of alcohol on the patient's breath, pre-hospital information, etc. One hundred and seven patients were divided into either of the two groups, "problem drinkers" or "others". When the patient fulfilled at least one of the following conditions, he/she was categorized as a "problem drinker". The conditions were either drunken patients who did not cooperate with the staff in the ED, who came to the ED after drinking more than two times during the investigation period, who usually consumed over 60 g of ethanol in a day, or who injured themselves intentionally after having consumed alcohol. Statistical significance was revealed with regard to "arrival time" and "diagnosis" between both groups. In the "problem drinkers" group, a larger number of patients visited the ED during the day (08:00-18:00 hrs.) and almost half the illness were diagnosed as trauma-related. The tendency of statistical significance was noted with regard to "sex" and "transportation". There was no statistical significance with regard to "age", "health insurance", "severity of illness", "opportunity to drink", or "CAGE questionnaire.