The mortality rate from alcohol-related conditions has risen sharply in the United Kingdom and it is not known whether opportunities for preventive interventions could be improved. The purpose of our study was to identify opportunities to detect, assess, and manage alcohol problems in primary care according to evidence-based guidelines.
We carried out a cross-sectional study on patients who died from alcohol-related conditions in the calendar year 2003 within National Health Service Greater Glasgow Health Board area, Scotland (population 920,000). We described patient characteristics and care recorded in health service records, comparing it with best evidence-based practice in Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network and Health Technology Board for Scotland recommendations on the management of harmful drinking and alcohol dependence.
501 deaths occurred from an alcohol-related cause. The mean age at death was 57.5 years and 72% were male. The most common causes of death, recorded by the International Classification of Diseases, revision 10, excluding accidents, were alcoholic liver disease (290, 57.9%) and mental and behavioural disorders due to alcohol (70, 14.0%).
Lifetime mean consultations at primary care general practitioner and hospital outpatient departments were 24 in males and 5 in females. All individuals who died from an alcohol-related cause had at least one biochemical or physical indicator suggestive of alcohol misuse. 21% (95% CI 13–33%) had no record of having been advised to abstain from alcohol and 23% (95% CI 15–35%) had received brief interventions. 58% (95% CI 46–70%) had been referred to specialist alcohol services but a third of them did not attend. The majority of patients (83%, 95% CI 72–90%) had no evidence of shared health service and social work care.
We concluded that individuals who died from alcohol-related conditions were usually in contact with statutory and voluntary services but further efforts were required to use these opportunities to detect, assess, and manage serious alcohol problems according to evidence-based guidelines.
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