Brief Interventions for Problem Drinking: Another Piece of the Puzzle
Authors: Patrick G. O'Connor
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2007)

Editorials6 February 2007Brief Interventions for Problem Drinking: Another Piece of the PuzzlePatrick G. O'Connor, MD, MPHPatrick G. O'Connor, MD, MPHFrom Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-146-3-200702060-00012 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Problem drinking has been associated with a wide variety of serious health and social problems (1), along with more than 100 000 deaths per year and an annual economic cost of more than $180 billion in the United States alone (2). The impact of these problems has motivated leaders in government and science to support research on screening and treatment strategies for patients with problem drinking (3). On the basis of this research, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has published recommendations for identifying patients with problem drinking and treating them individually according to their pattern of alcohol ...References1. O'Connor PG, Schottenfeld RS. Patients with alcohol problems. N Engl J Med. 1998;338:592-602. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Shalala DE. 10th Special Report to the U.S. Congress on Alcohol and Health. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2000. Google Scholar3. Room R, Babor T, Rehm J. Alcohol and public health. Lancet. 2005;365:519-30. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Helping Patients Who Drink Too Much: A Clinician's Guide. 2005 Edition. NIH publication no. 05-3769. Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; 2005. Google Scholar5. Saitz R. Clinical practice. Unhealthy alcohol use. N Engl J Med. 2005;352:596-607. 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New therapies for alcohol problems: application to primary care. Am J Med. 2000;108:227-37. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar15. Emmen MJ, Schippers GM, Bleijenberg G, Wollersheim H. Effectiveness of opportunistic brief interventions for problem drinking in a general hospital setting: systematic review. BMJ. 2004;328:318. [PMID: 14729657] Google Scholar16. Saitz R, Palfai TP, Cheng DM, Horton NJ, Freedner N, Dukes K, et al. Brief intervention for medical inpatients with unhealthy alcohol use. A randomized, controlled trial. Ann Intern Med. 2007;146:167-76. LinkGoogle Scholar17. Matching Alcoholism Treatments to Client Heterogeneity: Project MATCH posttreatment drinking outcomes. J Stud Alcohol. 1997;58:7-29. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar18. Garbutt JC, West SL, Carey TS, Lohr KN, Crews FT. Pharmacological treatment of alcohol dependence: a review of the evidence. JAMA. 1999;281:1318-25. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar19. Anton RF, O'Malley SS, Ciraulo DA, Cisler RA, Couper D, Donovan DM, et al. Combined pharmacotherapies and behavioral interventions for alcohol dependence: the COMBINE study: a randomized, controlled trial. JAMA. 2006;295:2003-17. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar20. O'Malley SS, Rounsaville BJ, Farren C, Namkoong K, Wu R, Robinson J, et al. Initial and maintenance naltrexone treatment for alcohol dependence using primary care vs specialty care: a nested sequence of 3 randomized trials. Arch Intern Med. 2003;163:1695-704. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Patrick G. O'Connor, MD, MPHAffiliations: From Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.Disclosures: None disclosed.Corresponding Author: Patrick G. O'Connor, MD, MPH, Section of General Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, PO Box 208025, New Haven, CT 06520; e-mail, patrick.[email protected]edu. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoBrief Intervention for Medical Inpatients with Unhealthy Alcohol Use Richard Saitz , Tibor P. Palfai , Debbie M. Cheng , Nicholas J. Horton , Naomi Freedner , Kim Dukes , Kevin L. Kraemer , Mark S. Roberts , Rosanne T. Guerriero , and Jeffrey H. Samet Metrics Cited byAlcohol brief intervention for hospitalized veterans with hazardous drinking: protocol for a 3-arm randomized controlled efficacy trialInterventions for Increasing Subsequent Alcohol Treatment Utilisation Among Patients with Alcohol Use Disorders from Somatic Inpatient Settings: A Systematic ReviewPhysician Detection of Unhealthy Substance Use on Inpatient Teaching and Hospitalist Medical ServicesPrevalence of Unhealthy Substance Use on Teaching and Hospitalist Medical Services: Implications for Education 6 February 2007Volume 146, Issue 3Page: 223-225KeywordsAlcohol consumptionAlcoholismAlcoholsInpatientsMedical servicesOutpatientsPatientsQuality of lifeResearch assessmentSystematic reviews ePublished: 6 February 2007 Issue Published: 6 February 2007 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2007 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...