Heavy or dangerous patterns of drinking alcohol can lead to accidents, injuries, physical and psychiatric illnesses, frequent sickness, absence from employment and social problems. Long term alcohol consumption has harmful effects on almost all organs of the body, particularly the brain and gastro-intestinal system. Healthcare professionals have the opportunity to ask people about how much alcohol they drink and offer brief interventions to heavy drinkers. These brief interventions involve a time limited intervention focusing on changing behaviour. They range from a single session providing information and advice to one to three sessions of motivational interviewing or skills-based counselling involving feedback and discussion on responsibility and self efficacy. Different health professionals who do not require to be alcohol specialists may give the intervention. Admission to hospital as an inpatient, in general medical wards and trauma centres, provides an opportunity whereby heavy alcohol users are accessible, have time for an intervention, and may be made aware of any links between their hospitalisation and alcohol. The review authors identified 14 randomised controlled trials and controlled clinical trials involving 4041 mainly male adults (16 years or older) identified as heavy drinkers in hospital, mainly in the UK and USA.
The main results of this review indicate that there are benefits to delivering brief interventions to heavy alcohol users in general hospital. Our results demonstrate that patients receiving brief interventions have a greater reduction in alcohol consumption compared to those in control groups at six month and nine month follow up but this is not maintained at one year. In addition there were significantly fewer deaths in the groups receiving brief interventions than in control groups at 6 months and one year. However, these findings are based on studies involving mainly male participants. Furthermore screening, asking participants about their drinking patterns, may also have a positive impact on alcohol consumption levels and changes in drinking behaviour and this is an area that requires further investigation.
Further research is required determine the optimal content and treatment exposure of brief interventions within general hospital settings and whether they are likely to be more successful in patients with certain characteristics.