Prevalence of Chronic Inebriates to the Emergency Department and Suitability for Sobering House Services

Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute668 enrolled

Overview

This study is intended to evaluate the prevalence of chronically inebriated patients in the Emergeny Department (ED). Patients will be identified prospectively by screening all patients (24/7) presenting to the ED for one month. A running tally of all patients in the ED will be kept. Of these patients, any patient that is noted to have alcohol intoxication will be identified. The chart of that patient will be reviewed for details about the patient's alcohol use and for the patient's suitability for a sobering house, which is a place where intoxicated patients can go to await sobriety. The chart will also be reviewed for the number of previous visits for alcohol use to our hospital ever and in the last year.

For this cross-sectional study, all patients presenting to the ED of an urban, Level 1 trauma center for one month were prospectively screened by trained research associates. When an intoxicated patient was identified, study information including patient demographics, diagnoses, vital signs, blood alcohol concentration (BAC), GCS on arrival, ability to ambulate independently on arrival, use of physical or chemical restraint, previous ED visits, length of stay, and health insurance was collected. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Study Type

OBSERVATIONAL

Enrollment

668

Conditions

Alcohol Intoxication

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients in the emergency department for alcohol intoxication Exclusion Criteria: * Under 18 * Prisoners * Pregnancy

Locations (1)

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Intoxicated Patients Eligible for a Sobering House

Determine the proportion of patients in the emergency department that are intoxicated and how many of those would be eligible to go to a sobering house. Eligibility for a sobering house is at the discretion of the treating physician and includes the ability to ambulate without assistance and no further acute need for medical treatments.

Time frame: Eligibility for a sobering house is assessed during the current ED admission. The study ends when patient is discharged from the ED, an expected average time of 9 hours.