Predictors of High Resource Consumption in Alcohol Intoxicated Patients in the Emergency Department

Katharina Rönz, Trevor Hirschi, Sebastian Becker, Gert Krummrey, Aristomenis K. Exadaktylos, Thomas C. Sauter, Wolf E. Hautz and Martin Müller
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Katharina Rönz: Department of Emergency Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland
Trevor Hirschi: Department of Anaesthesiology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland
Sebastian Becker: Department of Emergency Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland
Gert Krummrey: Department of Emergency Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland
Aristomenis K. Exadaktylos: Department of Emergency Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland
Thomas C. Sauter: Department of Emergency Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland
Wolf E. Hautz: Department of Emergency Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland
Martin Müller: Department of Emergency Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 11, 1-13

Abstract: Background: previous studies have reported that the incidence of alcohol-related visits to emergency departments (ED) has increased, but little is known about how the necessary resources per visit have changed, or about the predictors and reasons for resource consumption. Methods: a retrospective analysis was performed of all consultations with a primary or secondary diagnosis of acute alcohol intoxication admitted to the ED of Bern University Hospital, Switzerland, between 1 June 2012, and 31 May 2017. Clinical characteristics and resource consumption were extracted and analysed over time. Results: in all, 196,045 ED consultations included 2586 acute alcohol intoxications, corresponding to 1.3% of the total. The incidences of acute alcohol intoxications have tended to increase over the last five years, and a growing number of visits have consumed high resources (consultations above the 75th percentile for total resource consumption). High resource consumption was associated with greater age and the male gender ( p < 0.001). The main predictors of resource consumption were fractures (Odds ratio (OR): 3.9, 95% CI 2.8–5.3, p < 0.001), dislocations (OR 3.7, 95%: 1.5–9.1, p < 0.001), and traumatic brain injury (3.5, 2.5–5.1, p < 0.001). Consultations consuming high resources mostly required radiology resources (45%); consultations consuming low or normal resources mostly required physicians’ work (45%) or nurses’ work (27%). Conclusions: the number of alcohol intoxications consuming high resources has increased over the last five years. Acute alcohol intoxication associated with trauma is resource intensive, especially with regard to radiology resources. This underlines the need for further efforts to prevent alcohol-related traffic accidents, for examples.

Keywords: alcohol intoxication; alcoholism; emergency departments utilisation; emergency admissions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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