Clinical trial NCT03273283: Feasibility and Effectiveness of a Specialized Brief Intervention for Hazardous Drinkers in an Emergency Department.
Official title: Prevenció Dels Problemes Relacionats Amb Alcohol a urgències.
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Alcohol Drinking
Lead sponsor: Hospital Clinic of Barcelona
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2017-09-06
Enrollment: 200
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: Alcohol use and its consequences represent an important public health problem. As well as alcohol dependence, hazardous drinking also contributes to a high burden in terms of morbidity and mortality. To improve these patients' prognosis and decrease associated social and health care costs, it is necessary to increase early detection, intervention and treatment for these problems. For these reasons, SBIRT programmes (Screening Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment) have been developed, evaluated and shown to be effective, particularly in primary care and general practice. Nevertheless, effectiveness of SBIRT in emergency departments (ED) has not been clearly established.

The investigators aimed to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of an SBIRT programme in the ED of a tertiary hospital.

Detailed description: The investigators conducted a randomized controlled trial to study the feasibility and efficacy of an SBIRT programme for hazardous drinkers presenting in an ED. All patients older than 18 years old attending the emergency department were potentially eligible. Cognitively impaired or medically unstable patients were excluded. Patients seeking treatment for alcohol use were also excluded. Patients were randomized to two groups, with the control group receiving two leaflets - one regarding alcohol use, and the other giving information about the study protocol. The intervention group received the same leaflets as well as a brief motivational intervention on alcohol use; and, where appropriate, a referral to specialised treatment. The primary outcomes were the proportion of hazardous drinkers measured by AUDIT-C scale and the proportion of patients attending specialised treatment at 1.5 and 4.5 months and 1 year.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* All patients aged 18 or older attending to the emergency department were potentially eligible patients
* Patients with an AUDIT-C score higher than 6 points for men and 5 for woman were invited to participate

Exclusion Criteria:

* Cognitive impairment
* Medically unstable
* Patients explicitly demanding alcohol treatment

Primary outcomes:
measure: Proportion of Risky Drinkers Measured by AUDIT-C
timeFrame: 6 weeks
measure: Proportion of Patients Attending to Specialized Treatment
timeFrame: 6 weeks
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
Study officials:
References:
citation: Bruguera P, Barrio P, Manthey J, Oliveras C, Lopez-Pelayo H, Nuno L, Miquel L, Lopez-Lazcano A, Blithikioti C, Caballeria E, Matrai S, Rehm J, Vieta E, Gual A. Mid and long-term effects of a SBIRT program for at-risk drinkers attending to an emergency department. Follow-up results from a randomized controlled trial. Eur J Emerg Med. 2021 Oct 1;28(5):373-379. doi: 10.1097/MEJ.0000000000000810.