Predictors of Readmission Following Outpatient Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder

Abstract

To identify predictors of readmission to outpatient treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD) with a view to identifying underlying mechanisms for preventing relapse. A consecutive clinical cohort of 2130 AUD outpatients treated between 1 January 2006 and 1 June 2016 was studied. Data were collected by means of the Addiction Severity Index upon treatment entry and at discharge. Outcome measures were readmission to outpatient treatment and time to readmission. Potential predictors were tested for significance using Cox Proportional Hazards multivariate analysis. A total of 22% were readmitted during the follow-up time. Patients readmitted within 1year of treatment conclusion differed significantly from those not readmitted on age, cohabitation status and completion status of index treatment. Significant predictors of readmission during follow-up time were younger age (hazard ratio (HR)=0.99, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.98-1.00), history of psychiatric illness (HR=1.24, 95% CI, 1.02-1.50), drop-out from index treatment (HR=1.41, 95% CI, 1.15-1.72) and length of index treatment (HR=1.02, 95% CI, 1.00-1.04). Premature drop-out from treatment, a history of psychiatric illness, younger age and longer treatment episodes appear to be the most important predictors of readmission.