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When routine screening uncovers excessive alcohol use, a brief “intervention” consisting of counseling and referral has become an accepted part of outpatient primary care. Are such interventions effective in the more frenetic context of a general medical ward?
Medical inpatients with a history of heavy drinking were randomized to receive a 30-minute alcohol-focused intervention or routine care while hospitalized. The intervention consisted of counseling and creating a plan to change drinking behavior; control patients were advised to discuss their risky drinking with their physicians. Most of the 341 participants were male and unemployed; more than 75% met DSM-IV criteria for alcohol dependence, almost 50% had been admitted for an alcohol-re…