Screening Adolescents for Alcohol Use Disorders in the Emergency Department

A brief, self-administered screen performed well for identifying at-risk youth.

Adolescents who use the emergency department (ED) have higher rates of mental health and substance abuse problems than other adolescents and might benefit from early identification of risky substance use. The clinical demands of an ED require that a screening tool be brief and easy to use. Investigators evaluated a self-administered, two-question screen in 4838 adolescent patients (aged 12–17 years) treated in 16 pediatric EDs in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network. The screen was developed by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Participants answered the questions on an iPad; results were not shared with the clinical team. The screen consisted of one question about friends' drinking habits and one about …

Reviewing Author

Daniel M. Lindberg, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Grant/Research SupportEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; MINDSOURCE

Editorial BoardsThe Quarterly Update: Reviews of Current Child Abuse Medical Research; Child Abuse & Neglect: The International Journal

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesThe Helfer Society (Executive Committee Member)