Demographics and clinical characteristics of alcohol-related admissions in a tertiary care hospital in Qatar: Does age matter?

Abstract

Background: Alcohol consumption is a major cause of acute and chronic health conditions associated with comorbidities and traumatic injuries, despite its partial prohibition in some countries. Moreover, alcohol-related hospital admissions increase the burden on the healthcare system. More than 80% of the population in Qatar comprises expatriates. This study aimed to analyze the demographics and clinical characteristics of subjects with alcohol-related emergency department (ED) visits/hospitalization with respect to different age groups in a single tertiary hospital in Qatar. Methods: It is a retrospective observational study of adult patients who visited the ED at Hamad General Hospital between January 2013 and March 2015 and were screened positive for alcohol use. Collected data included sociodemographic characteristics, blood alcohol concentration (BAC), pattern of admission, previous medical history, laboratory investigations, treatment, hospital course, and mortality. Data were compared with respect to the distribution of age groups such as < 25, 25–34, 35–44, 45–54, and >55 years. Results: In total, 1506 consecutively admitted patients screened positive for alcohol use were included in the study; the majority of them were males (95.6%), non-Qatari nationals (71.1%), and aged 35–44 years (30.9%). The age groups 35–44 years and 45–54 years showed the highest median BAC ([0.24 interquartile range (IQR: 0.14–0.33)] and [0.24 (IQR: 0.13–0.33)], respectively) as compared to the other age groups (P = 0.001). The pattern of hospital admission, sociodemographic status, presence of comorbidities, laboratory investigations, and mortality showed specific age-related distribution. Particularly, young adults were more likely to have a previous ED visit due to trauma, whereas older patients’ previous hospital admissions were mostly related to various underlying comorbidities. Conclusion: This study highlighted the patterns of age and clinico-epidemiological status of patients with alcohol-attributable hospital admissions. Our study showed that alcohol consumption was higher among the working-age group. Further studies are needed to investigate changes in the alcohol consumption patterns that may help plan for allocation of health resources and prevention of alcohol-related problems.

Factors associated with higher alcohol concentrations in emergency department presentations: PACE study

“…Consistent with the literature [11,12,34], this study found that males and people of younger age had the highest blood ethanol concentrations, with males having 83% higher concentrations than females, and younger age groups having more than three times higher concentrations than those aged 65+ years. Blood ethanol concentrations at the time of presentation in patients brought in by ambulance or involuntarily for emergency examination were between two-and eight-fold higher than in those who self-attended.…”

“…These findings are consistent with one study that found that younger adults who screened positive for blood alcohol on hospital admission were more likely to have trauma‐related presentations [34]. Whereas, middle and older age patients with positive blood alcohol on admission were more likely to have alcohol‐related diagnosis and greater numbers of underlying comorbidities [34]. In the current study, alcohol consumption in the previous 2–4 weeks (as determined by PEth concentration) was highest for males and those middle‐aged (45–64 years) and 18–44 years.…”

“…In essence, younger patients, males, injury‐related presentations and those brought in by ambulance or involuntarily, were significantly more likely to have higher blood ethanol concentrations on ED presentation than the rest of the cohort. These findings are consistent with one study that found that younger adults who screened positive for blood alcohol on hospital admission were more likely to have trauma‐related presentations [34]. Whereas, middle and older age patients with positive blood alcohol on admission were more likely to have alcohol‐related diagnosis and greater numbers of underlying comorbidities [34].…”