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The burden of alcohol
Anyone who works in an Emergency Department (ED) will know how many attendances seem to be related to the use of alcohol. In this issue, the paper by Parkinson et al quantifies the problem, informing us about the proportion of cases that are attributable to alcohol and the most common reasons for alcohol-related attendance. They also estimate the substantial financial cost that this incurs. This fascinating study combined a retrospective chart review of attendances and a prospective evaluation in which breath alcohol concentration was measured in patients attending the ED. The authors found that the peak time for alcohol-related attendances was between 2am and 3am, during which period 59% of patients attending the ED had ingested alcohol. Looking only at attendances on Fridays and Saturdays between 2am and 3am, a staggering 71.9% of all attendances were alcohol-related. One in every six of these patients was admitted to an inpatient ward at a mean …