Long-term effectiveness of SBIRT by outreach visits on subsequent alcohol treatment utilization among inpatients from general hospital: a 36-months follow-up.

Aim: To investigate the long-term effect of Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) on alcohol treatment utilization among general hospital inpatients.

Methods: This 36-month follow-up of a randomized controlled trial included general hospital inpatients who were screened using the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT). Patients with an AUDIT score of 8+ were included. Patients were randomized to either SBIRT (Relay) or treatment as-usual (TAU). Outcome was attendance at a specialized outpatient treatment institution or prescription of pharmacological alcohol treatment in general practice. Using the Danish Civil Registration System, patients were followed in the Danish National Patient Registry, Danish National Alcohol Treatment Register, and the Danish National Prescription Registry. Data was collected up to 36 months after discharge.

Results: The study population consisted of 258 patients in the Relay group and 303 patients in the TAU group. In the Relay group, 36 (14.0%) patients received treatment versus 23 (7.6%) in the TAU group. Patients in the Relay group had higher odds for receiving treatment compared to the TAU group (OR: 1.97, 95% CI: 1.1-3.4, p = 0.01). Significantly more patients in the Relay group scored 16+ on the AUDIT and had already tried to change their alcohol consumption (both p < 0.01). Adjusted for potential confounders, the effect of the Relay intervention was reduced (OR: 1.37, 95%CI: 0.7-2.5, p = 0.31).

Conclusions: This study did not find evidence that SBIRT is better than TAU at sustaining significant long-term alcohol treatment utilization after discharge among inpatients from general hospital.