Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on emergency department alcohol intoxication presentations and positive screens for problem drinking

Abstract

Our aim was to assess the changes in patients presenting with acute alcohol intoxications or positive screens for problem drinking during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to before the pandemic in a seven-hospital health system. A retrospective chart review of emergency department (ED) visits from seven hospitals in the Washington, DC/Baltimore, and MD area from January 2019 to June 2021 is provided. The health system utilizes a validated system for Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for ED patients. We evaluated trends in patients who had a positive SBIRT screen for problem drinking (AUDIT-C score ≥ 3 in women, 4 in men), alcohol misuse (≥5), and those presenting with acute alcohol intoxication before March 2020 and during the early COVID pandemic period. There were 510 648 patients who were screened, ranging from ages of 16 to 95 years during the study period. There was an overall increase in patients who screened positive for problem drinking, alcohol misuse, and acute intoxications. While there was an overall decrease in the total number of ED visits during the start of the pandemic, which later increased near prepandemic levels, alcohol-related presentations as a percentage of total visits increased during the early pandemic period. There was an overall decrease in ED visits during the COVID-19 pandemic study period; problem drinking and acute intoxication presentation held steady, leading to an overall increase in proportion compared to pre-COVID-19 levels. Future research should focus on lessons learned during this time and should navigate the postpandemic care of patients with AUD. There was an increase in the proportion of ED visits for alcohol intoxications and positive screens for problem drinking during the COVID-19 pandemic in our seven-hospital system.

Keywords: COVID-19; alcohol; drinking; emergency department; intoxication.