Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome Version 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Can Risk Stratification for Alcohol Withdrawal Reduce Hospital Admissions?
IRAS ID
196763
Contact name
George Benson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Glasgow Caledonian University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 10 months, 23 days
Research summary
Can risk stratification for alcohol withdrawal reduce hospital admissions? The financial impact of alcohol on the Scottish NHS is estimated at £3.5 billion per year. A high proportion of cost is associated with hospital treatment and patients with an alcohol use disorder (AUD). AUD`s refer to people who drink above the governments recommended limits in a hazardous, harmful or dependent pattern. Although all AUD`s may cause ill health, the majority of primary attendances at emergency departments are people who have alcohol dependence and at risk of severe alcohol withdrawal syndrome (SAWS). AWS symptoms range from mild, moderate to severe. In most cases people with mild to moderate symptoms do not require treatment. Currently there is no guidance to support emergency department staff in identifying high risk groups who require hospital treatment. Therefore, the majority of these patients are admitted to a hospital bed and discharged within 24 hours. Admission increases the risk of inappropriate treatment, underutilisation of community alcohol services and impacts the hospitals ability to achieve the government waiting time target.
Emergency departments staff would benefit from a risk stratification tool to support them in the decision to discharge patients at low risk of SAWS from the department. The tool would incorporate factors identified as predisposing a person with alcohol dependence syndrome (ADS) to SAWS. Development of the tool would be based on a retrospective analysis of case records aligned to patients admitted to the Glasgow hospitals. The sample group would be patients admitted for SAWS in the previous 12 months and patients admitted with ADS and no SAWS. Prospectively the usability of the tool will be tested by the acute adiction liaison nurses in a similar group of 10 patients who present at emergenct departments at Glasgow Royal Infirmary and the Queen Elizabeth University hospital with ADS.
REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/NE/0243
Date of REC Opinion
8 Jul 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion