Assessment and management of alcohol‐related admissions to UK intensive care units

Abstract

The critical care environment has felt the overwhelming impact of the growing problem of alcohol abuse. However, there is ambiguity concerning the assessment and management of this patient group. The aim of this study was to explore current practice in the use of assessment and management tools for alcohol-related admissions in UK intensive care units (ICU). Two hundred and forty-eight lead consultants across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales were sent an electronic survey using the SurveyMonkey(®) ( www.surveymonkey.com) website. A total of 103 (41·05%) lead consultants responded to the survey. Most units (67%) utilized the volume of alcohol consumed per week to assess patient alcohol use. Furthermore, 12 units (11%) used the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment tool, 5 units (5%) used the Glasgow Modified Alcohol Withdrawal Scale and 79 units (73%) used no tool for the management of alcohol withdrawal syndrome. There appears to be a diverse approach to the assessment and management of alcohol-related admissions in UK ICUs. Further research is required in this area to identify the most effective way to assess and manage alcohol-related admissions within intensive care. Under recognition and poor assessment of alcohol use can have major implications for critically ill patients.