Hospital Use of Ethanol Survey (HUES)

Abstract

Little information exists about alcohol use within health facilities. We sought to determine alcohol use and control in acute-care hospitals by mailing a questionnaire to a convenience sample of Pharmacy Directors of 24 hospitals in two regions. Of 23 responders, in-patient alcohol was dispensed by 21 (91%) within the last 5 years. Of these 21, both beverage and intravenous alcohol were dispensed by 13 (62%), only beverage alcohol by seven (33%), and only intravenous alcohol by one (5%). No institutional policies regarding alcohol dispensing existed in 16 (70%) hospitals. Alcohol was frequently used as a patient courtesy (14/20, 70%), and to prevent withdrawal (7/20, 35%). All pharmacies procured intravenous alcohol in a formal process, but 60% (12/20) obtained beverage alcohol informally. Alcohol is widely dispensed with few guidelines in this sample of acute-care hospitals. Additional research on therapeutic efficacy, consequences, and institutional oversight of alcohol in hospitals is needed.

Carbonyl compounds and BTEX in the special rooms of hospital in Guangzhou, China

“…As exhibited in Table 2, acetaldehyde was the most abundant compound in indoor and outdoor air, which might be attributed to the emission of acetaldehyde from hospital waste or the wide use of ethanol (alcohol) as disinfectant in hospital [27]. High concentrations of acetaldehyde were recorded in urban waste disposal bins [22].…”

Implementing managed alcohol programs in hospital settings: A review of academic and grey literature

“…Five studies conducted cross-sectional surveys of hospital administrators to examine trends in the provision of alcohol to inpatients, four in the USA [67][68][69][70] and one in the UK [71]. All found strong evidence that IV alcohol was dispensed to treat or prevent AWS while beverage alcohol was dispensed to both treat and prevent AWS but also for patient amenity, sedation or other reasons [67][68][69][70][71]. All five surveys found that beer was the most commonly dispensed beverage alcohol, followed by spirits [67,[69][70][71], wine [67,69,70], and brandy/sherry [67,70,71].…”

“…All found strong evidence that IV alcohol was dispensed to treat or prevent AWS while beverage alcohol was dispensed to both treat and prevent AWS but also for patient amenity, sedation or other reasons [67][68][69][70][71]. All five surveys found that beer was the most commonly dispensed beverage alcohol, followed by spirits [67,[69][70][71], wine [67,69,70], and brandy/sherry [67,70,71]. Beverage alcohol was generally prescribed by physicians, procured by the pharmacy or food services, and administered by nurses.…”

Exploring the experience of inpatients with severe alcohol use disorder on a managed alcohol program (MAP) at St. Paul’s Hospital

“…The literature review on HMAPs identified several hospitals that provided alcohol on a short-term basis to manage withdrawal, but none were specifically described as formal managed alcohol programs and there was a noted lack of consistency in assessment and other program components [14]. There is a long history of alcohol being used to manage alcohol withdrawal; US-based studies have determined that 70% of hospital pharmacy formularies surveyed stock alcohol, usually in the form of ethanol [16,17].…”