Abstract
AimResuming drinking is a main contributant to recurrence in alcoholic pancreatitis. We assessed current clinical practice in the Netherlands regarding alcohol in managing patients with a first episode of acute alcoholic pancreatitis.MethodsA survey was distributed to 35 hospitals affiliated with the Dutch Pancreatitis Study Group. We evaluated current support based on various components of brief interventions, the participation of psychosocial healthcare providers, the cooperation with the primary care physicians and the presence of a protocol and its implementation.ResultsThe response rate was 100% (n = 35). Psychoeducation is the most frequently performed intervention in current support treatment (97% of hospitals). In 17% of hospitals, healthcare providers with a psychosocial background routinely participate in current support treatment; 37% of hospitals create an individual treatment plan in which goals regarding alcohol cessation are specified and only 46% of hospitals provide the primary care physician with specific discharge information; 31% of hospitals indicate that the treatment is uniformly performed within their division of Gastroenterology. Protocols are available in 3% of the hospitals surveyed. Opportunities to involve the patient’s social network were not given sufficient priority.ConclusionAmong Dutch hospitals, there is no routine management strategy with regard to enhancing treatment for heavy alcohol use in alcoholic pancreatitis patients. There is a need to test a validated support program in randomized studies. Meanwhile, possible opportunities for effecting change are often missed.
Highlights
1300 patients per year with a first episode of acute alcoholic pancreatitis are admitted to hospital in the Netherlands (Dutch Healthcare Authority, 2020; Dutch Hospital Data, 2016)
A Dutch cross-sectional study has shown that 25% of patients after a first episode of alcoholic pancreatitis have at least one recurrent attack and 16% develop chronic pancreatitis (Ahmed Ali et al, 2016)
We evaluated current support treatment based on different components of brief interventions, the type of engaged professionals, the treatment setting, the discharge planning and the presence of a protocol and its implementation
Summary
1300 patients per year with a first episode of acute alcoholic pancreatitis are admitted to hospital in the Netherlands (Dutch Healthcare Authority, 2020; Dutch Hospital Data, 2016). Acute alcoholic pancreatitis can vary from a mild (80% of patients) to a severe and even life-threatening disorder Effective treatments—with small to moderate effect size compared to no treatment—are available and include brief interventions (DiClemente et al, 2017). These interventions focus on the patient’s context of harmful drinking, the patient’s motivation to change drinking behavior and on achievable individual treatment goals which might include cessation or reduction of alcohol consumption or change in drinking habits (The Netherlands Psychiatric Association, 2009; Boomsma et al, 2014; Reus et al, 2018)
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