Alcohol op de spoedgevallendienst vóór en tijdens de Covid-19-pandemie

Abstract

Alcohol in the emergency department before and during the COVID-19 pandemic Background. Surveys designed to estimate changes in alcohol consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic show that people who already frequently used alcohol tended to increase their alcohol consumption during the lockdown. The question rises whether these changes can also be observed when taking a closer look at the admissions at the emergency department. Unfortunately, only limited data are available. Methods. A retrospective, observational study was performed in the emergency departments of the general hospital AZ Sint-Jan Brugge (AZB) and the university hospital UZ Leuven (UZL), both located in Flanders, Belgium. All patients admitted with a positive ethanolemia ≥ 0.1 g/L between March 1, 2019 and February 28, 2021 were included. In case of a positive ethanolemia (≥ 0,1 g/L), the following data were collected: ethanolemia, age, sex, mode of transport and destination. Results. In both centres, the total number of emergency admissions as well as those due to alcohol intoxication decreased during the pandemic. The ratio of alcohol-related emergency admissions to the total number therefore remained stable in both hospitals (UZL: 1.9% and AZB: 2.7%). We noticed a shift in age, with a decrease in the number of admissions for adolescents (10-19 years) and young adults (20-29 years). A slight increase in the number of women was also seen. A higher ethanolemia was generally measured in both centres during the lockdown period. The number of repeated presentations and admissions increased as well. Conclusion. Although there were less admissions at the emergency department in absolute numbers, a shift in alcohol consumption could be demonstrated. Higher ethanolemia values were measured, chronic drinkers were seen more frequently and patients were hospitalized at the psychiatric ward more often.