Initiating Medications for Alcohol Use Disorder During Hospitalizations

Clinical Takeaway

: Prescription rates at discharge were better than those seen in prior studies.

Context

Medications for alcohol use disorder (MAUD; e.g., naltrexone, acamprosate) can reduce dangerous alcohol drinking, and best practice is to consider initiating these medications during hospitalizations related to alcohol use. To examine current MAUD use during hospitalizations, investigators reviewed health records from 2022 through 2024 at 12 hospitals in a large health system in Colorado and identified 6000 hospitalizations for alcohol withdrawal (mean patient age, 47). The authors excluded patients with MAUD prescriptions in the past 90 days.

Key Results

MAUD was initiated in 20% of these hospitalizations; rates ranged from 5% to 43% across all hospitals.
The highest initiation rate was at the single hospital with an addiction consult …

Reviewing Author

Christopher W. Goodman, M.D.

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose