Diana Egerton-Warburton1, Andrew Gosbell2, Angela Wadsworth2, Daniel M Fatovich3, Drew B Richardson4. 1. Monash Medical Centre Emergency Department, Monash Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. angela.wadsworth@acem.org.au. 2. Policy and Research, Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. 3. University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia. 4. Emergency Department, Australian National University Medical School, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine the proportion of alcohol-related presentations to emergency departments (EDs) in Australia and New Zealand, at a single time point on a weekend night shift. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A point prevalence survey of ED patients either waiting to be seen or currently being seen conducted at 02:00 local time on 14 December 2013 in 106 EDs in Australia and New Zealand. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The number of ED presentations that were alcohol-related, defined using World Health Organization ICD-10 codes. RESULTS: At the 106 hospitals (92 Australia, 14 New Zealand) that provided data, 395 (14.3%; 95% CI, 13.0%-15.6%) of 2766 patients in EDs at the study time were presenting for alcohol-related reasons; 13.8% (95% CI, 12.5%-15.2%) in Australia and 17.9% (95% CI, 13.9%-22.8%) in New Zealand. The distribution was skewed left, with proportions ranging from 0 to 50% and a median of 12.5%. Nine Australian hospitals and one New Zealand hospital reported that more than a third of their ED patients had alcohol-related presentations; the Northern Territory (38.1%) and Western Australia (21.1%) reported the highest proportions of alcohol-related presentations. CONCLUSIONS: One in seven ED presentations in Australian and New Zealand at this 02:00 snapshot were alcohol-related, with some EDs seeing more than one in three alcohol-related presentations. This confirms that alcohol-related presentations to EDs are currently underreported and makes a strong case for public health initiatives.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the proportion of alcohol-related presentations to emergency departments (EDs) in Australia and New Zealand, at a single time point on a weekend night shift. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A point prevalence survey of ED patients either waiting to be seen or currently being seen conducted at 02:00 local time on 14 December 2013 in 106 EDs in Australia and New Zealand. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The number of ED presentations that were alcohol-related, defined using World Health Organization ICD-10 codes. RESULTS: At the 106 hospitals (92 Australia, 14 New Zealand) that provided data, 395 (14.3%; 95% CI, 13.0%-15.6%) of 2766 patients in EDs at the study time were presenting for alcohol-related reasons; 13.8% (95% CI, 12.5%-15.2%) in Australia and 17.9% (95% CI, 13.9%-22.8%) in New Zealand. The distribution was skewed left, with proportions ranging from 0 to 50% and a median of 12.5%. Nine Australian hospitals and one New Zealand hospital reported that more than a third of their ED patients had alcohol-related presentations; the Northern Territory (38.1%) and Western Australia (21.1%) reported the highest proportions of alcohol-related presentations. CONCLUSIONS: One in seven ED presentations in Australian and New Zealand at this 02:00 snapshot were alcohol-related, with some EDs seeing more than one in three alcohol-related presentations. This confirms that alcohol-related presentations to EDs are currently underreported and makes a strong case for public health initiatives.
Authors: James M Bolton; Christine Leong; Okechukwu Ekuma; Heather J Prior; Geoffrey Konrad; Jennifer Enns; Deepa Singal; Josh Nepon; Michael T Paillé; Greg Finlayson; Nathan C Nickel Journal: CMAJ Open Date: 2020-11-24
Authors: Mieke Snijder; Bianca Calabria; Timothy Dobbins; Anthony Shakeshaft Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2020-01-07 Impact factor: 3.390
Authors: Kim A Vuong; Silvia Manzanero; Jacobus P J Ungerer; Gary Mitchell; Brett McWhinney; Kirsten Vallmuur; Jacelle Warren; Victoria McCreanor; Tegwen Howell; Clifford Pollard; Michael Schuetz; Anna Zournazi; Cate M Cameron Journal: BMJ Open Date: 2021-11-09 Impact factor: 2.692