Emergency departments are well placed to identify alcohol misuse problems

doi:10.1136/bmj.324.7332.300c

BMJ 2002;324:300 ( 2 February )

Letters

Emergency departments are well placed to identify alcohol misuse problems

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR $---$ We agree with Foster that greater attention must be paid to alcohol use disorders if national and international targetsfor suicide reduction are to be met.¹ Accident and emergencydepartments have a central part to play in tackling the link betweenalcohol misuse and suicidal behaviour as most patients with deliberateself harm presentthere.

Research has indicated that over half of men who present to hospital after deliberate self harm have consumed alcohol in thefew hours preceding the attempt, half regularly drink excessiveamounts of alcohol, and 23% are alcohol dependent.² Despitethis strong association many patients who present to hospitalafter deliberate self harm do not have their alcohol use assessed.³

At the accident and emergency department at St Mary's Hospital, in inner London, the proportion of patients whose alcoholconsumption is assessed has been greatly increased by the introductionof the Paddington alcohol test.⁴ . . . [Full text of this article]