Treatment Resistant and Resistant to Treatment? Evaluation of 40 Alcohol Dependent Patients Admitted for Involuntary Treatment

To describe the clinical outcomes for a group of patients with severe alcohol dependence discharged from an Involuntary Drug and Alcohol Treatment (IDAT) program. Forty patients admitted to an inpatient IDAT program were prospectively followed up over 6 months using standardized questionnaires. Pati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford) 2016-05, Vol.51 (3), p.291-295
Main Authors: Dore, Glenys, Sinclair, Barbara, Murray, Robin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Alcoholism - epidemiology
Alcoholism - psychology
Alcoholism - therapy
Atrophy - pathology
Australia - epidemiology
Cerebral Cortex - pathology
Community Mental Health Services
Comorbidity
Female
Hospitalization
Humans
Male
Mandatory Programs
Mental Disorders - epidemiology
Middle Aged
Prospective Studies
Recurrence
Social Class
Treatment Outcome
Young Adult
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Summary:To describe the clinical outcomes for a group of patients with severe alcohol dependence discharged from an Involuntary Drug and Alcohol Treatment (IDAT) program. Forty patients admitted to an inpatient IDAT program were prospectively followed up over 6 months using standardized questionnaires. Patients had high rates of mental health comorbidities (97.5%), cortical atrophy (40%) and socioeconomic disadvantage (92.5% were beneficiaries). Six months after discharge, 25% of patients were abstinent and living in the community and 17.5% had notably reduced alcohol use. A further 7.5% were abstinent due to involuntary hospitalization. A total of 10% of patients were deceased and 40% of patients had relapsed or were lost to follow-up. Number of admissions and admission days reduced by 51 and 45% respectively for the 17 abstinent or improved community-based patients. A total of 82% of this patient group were actively engaged with an Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) team. While patient numbers are small, treatment responsiveness was evident for 42.5% of patients, most of whom were followed up with ACT. Evaluation with a comparator group is required to determine whether outcomes are a function of involuntary treatment or an assertive treatment approach.
ISSN:0735-0414
1464-3502
DOI:10.1093/alcalc/agv103