Objective Opportunistic brief in-person Emergency Department (ED) interventions can be effective at reducing hazardous alcohol use in young adult drinkers, but require resources frequently unavailable. Mobile phone text messaging (SMS) could sustainably deliver behavioral support to young adult patients, but efficacy remains unknown. We report 3-month outcome data of a randomized controlled trial testing a novel SMS-delivered intervention in hazardous drinking young adults. Methods We randomized 765 young adult ED patients who screened positive for past hazardous alcohol use to one of three groups: SMS Assessments + Feedback (SA+F) intervention who were asked to respond to drinking-related queries and received realtime feedback through SMS each Thursday and Sunday for 12 weeks (n=384); SMS Assessments (SA) who were asked to respond to alcohol consumption queries each Sunday but did not receive any feedback (N=196); and a control group who did not participate in any SMS (n=185). Primary outcomes were number of binge drinking days and number of drinks per drinking day in the past 30 days collected by web-based Timeline Follow-Back method and analyzed with regression models. Secondary outcomes were the proportion of participants with weekend binge episodes and most drinks consumed per drinking occasion over 12 weekends collected by SMS. Results Using web-based data, there were decreases in the number of binge drinking days from baseline to 3 months in the SA+F group (-.51 [95% confidence interval {CI} -.10 to -.95]), whereas there were increases in the SA group (.90 [95% CI .23 to 1.6]) and the control group (.41 [95% CI -.20 to 1.0]). There were also decreases in the number of drinks per drinking day from baseline to 3 months in the SA+F group (-.31 [95% CI -.07 to -.55]), whereas there were increases in the SA group (.10 [95% CI -.27 to .47]) and the control group (.39 [95% CI .06 to .72]). Using SMS data, there was a lower mean proportion of SA+F participants reporting a weekend binge over 12 weeks (30.5% [95% CI 25% to 36%) compared to the SA participants (47.7% [95% CI 40% to 56%]). There was also a lower mean drinks consumed per weekend over 12 weeks in the SA+F group (3.2 [95%CI 2.6 to 3.7]) compared to the SA group (4.8 [95% CI 4.0 to 5.6]). Conclusion A text message intervention can produce small reductions in binge drinking and the number of drinks consumed per drinking day in hazardous drinking young adults after ED discharge.

TM can be used to assess drinking in young adults and can deliver brief interventions to young adults discharged from the ED. TM-based interventions have the potential to reduce heavy drinking among young adults but larger studies are needed to establish efficacy.

BackgroundBinge drinking is associated with numerous negative consequences. The prevalence and intensity of binge drinking is highest among young adults. This randomized trial tested the efficacy of a 12-week interactive text message intervention to reduce binge drinking up to 6 months after intervention completion among young adults.Methods and FindingsYoung adult participants (18–25 y; n = 765) drinking above the low-risk limits (AUDIT-C score >3/4 women/men), but not seeking alcohol treatment, were enrolled from 4 Emergency Departments (EDs) in Pittsburgh, PA. Participants were randomized to one of three conditions in a 2:1:1 allocation ratio: SMS Assessments + Feedback (SA+F), SMS Assessments (SA), or control. For 12 weeks, SA+F participants received texts each Thursday querying weekend drinking plans and prompting drinking limit goal commitment and each Sunday querying weekend drinking quantity. SA+F participants received tailored feedback based on their text responses. To contrast the effects of SA+F with self-monitoring, SA participants received texts on Sundays querying drinking quantity, but did not receive alcohol-specific feedback. The control arm received standard care. Follow-up outcome data collected through web-based surveys were provided by 78% of participants at 3- months, 63% at 6-months and 55% at 9-months. Multiple imputation-derived, intent-to-treat models were used for primary analysis. At 9-months, participants in the SA+F group reported greater reductions in the number of binge drinking days than participants in the control group (incident rate ratio [IRR] 0.69; 95% CI .59 to.79), lower binge drinking prevalence (odds ratio [OR] 0.52; 95% CI 0.26 to 0.98]), less drinks per drinking day (beta -.62; 95% CI -1.10 to -0.15) and lower alcohol-related injury prevalence (OR 0.42; 95% CI 0.21 to 0.88). Participants in the SA group did not reduce drinking or alcohol-related injury relative to controls. Findings were similar using complete case analyses.ConclusionsAn interactive text-message intervention was more effective than self-monitoring or controls in reducing alcohol consumption and alcohol-related injury prevalence up to 6 months after intervention completion. These findings, if replicated, suggest a scalable approach to help achieve sustained reductions in binge drinking and accompanying injuries among young adults.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT01688245

Those receiving the text messaging-based education and support had fewer and less severe postconcussive symptoms than the controls but none of the differences reached statistical significance. Further evaluation of more robust mobile interventions and larger sample of participants are still needed.

Including prehospital provider impression to objective physiologic factors identified three more patients with infection at the cost of overtriaging five. Future research should determine the effect of training or diagnostic aids for improving the sensitivity of prehospital identification of patients with serious infection.