View clinical trials related to Alcohol-Related Disorders.
Filter by:Alcohol use and its consequences represent an important public health problem. As well as alcohol dependence, hazardous drinking also contributes to a high burden in terms of morbidity and mortality. To improve these patients' prognosis and decrease associated social and health care costs, it is necessary to increase early detection, intervention and treatment for these problems. Alcohol consumption is associated with a decrease in primary care services utilization, thus Emergency Departments (EDs) are a primary gateway to healthcare services in this group. Depending on the investigative method and the mixture of the target population, an estimated 0.6-40% of all ED visits are due to alcohol-related problems. Given this, EDs offer a unique window of opportunity to address alcohol problems. The threshold most commonly used to define frequent use of EDs is more than 4 visits per year. Frequent users comprise 0.3% to 10% of all ED patients and account for 3.5% to 28% of ED visits in developed countries. Addictive and other psychiatric disorders, and also social vulnerability are more common in frequent ED users than in non-frequent users. Although case management interventions seem promising to reduce ED attendance among frequent users, currently there is mixed evidence on the effects of such interventions on ED use. Considering all this, a broader understanding of interventions to reduce frequent visits is needed, specially focusing on local frequent ED populations and identified highly vulnerable subgroups, such as hazardous drinkers. The investigators aim to evaluate the feasibility and potential effectiveness of a Case Management programme for ED Frequent Users presenting risky alcohol use in the ED of a tertiary hospital.
Alcohol use and its consequences represent an important public health problem. As well as alcohol dependence, hazardous drinking also contributes to a high burden in terms of morbidity and mortality. To improve these patients' prognosis and decrease associated social and health care costs, it is necessary to increase early detection, intervention and treatment for these problems. Alcohol consumption is associated with a decrease in primary care services utilization, thus Emergency Departments (EDs) are a primary gateway to healthcare services in this group. Depending on the investigative method and the mixture of the target population, an estimated 0.6-40% of all ED visits are due to alcohol-related problems. Given this, EDs offer a unique window of opportunity to address alcohol problems. The threshold most commonly used to define frequent use of EDs is more than 4 visits per year. Frequent users comprise 0.3% to 10% of all ED patients and account for 3.5% to 28% of ED visits in developed countries. Addictive and other psychiatric disorders, and also social vulnerability are more common in frequent ED users than in non-frequent users. Although case management interventions seem promising to reduce ED attendance among frequent users, currently there is mixed evidence on the effects of such interventions on ED use. Considering all this, a broader understanding of interventions to reduce frequent visits is needed, specially focusing on local frequent ED populations and identified highly vulnerable subgroups, such as hazardous drinkers. The investigators aim to evaluate the effectiveness of a Case Management programme for ED Frequent Users presenting risky alcohol use in the ED of a tertiary hospital.
Background: Many people suffer from drug addiction. But currently, treatments are not very effective. One group of patients in this study are enrolled in addiction treatment through physician health programs (PHPs). About 70% of these patients are able to stop using drugs for extended periods of time. By studying this specific group of patients, researchers want to understand the difference between those who may or may not respond to treatment. They want to study the brain while people do thinking and feeling tasks and when they relax. They will study brain chemicals, a stress hormone, and certain genes. The results may help them understand the brain basis for addiction and recovery. Objectives: To use brain imaging to find differences between people with and without drug addiction. To see if these differences help predict addiction. Eligibility: Healthy, right-handed adults ages 21-65, enrolled in a physician health program or those with no history of addiction and with at least 16 years of education Design: Participants enrolled in a PHP will be screened under this study and participants with no history of addiction will be screened under another study. At the study visit, participants will: Have a routine check-up, including tests for pregnancy, drugs, and alcohol. Give 11 blood samples. Rate their cravings. Test their frustration with stressful situations by responding to questions on a screen. Practice the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tasks: Shock task. Two electrodes placed on a foot will deliver brief, low-strength electrical shocks that get gradually stronger, but not painful. Participants will see drug or neutral images. They will rate their discomfort. Thinking tasks. Participants will answer questions about pictures, numbers, and money. They will press buttons in response to things they see. Do the MRI tasks in 2 sessions (morning and afternoon) in the scanner. Participants will lie in an MRI machine which will take pictures of the brain while doing these tasks. Some participants will repeat the visit twice over a year at set intervals. Meals will be provided, and visits will include meal breaks and smoking breaks for those who smoke.