The Impact of Alcohol on Admissions to a Welsh Intensive Care Unit: A Short Report

Introduction: The average annual number of alcohol-related hospital admissions for residents of Wales is reported to be 1.5% of all admissions. We have completed a prospective evaluation of the impact of alcohol-attributable admissions to an ICU in a major tertiary centre in Wales. Methods: Data were collected for 124 consecutive admissions to the ICU. Each admission was screened for alcohol-attributable associationsand data recorded for patient characteristics, demographics and outcomes. Results: A total of 124 patients were included, with 23 (18.5%) admissions attributable to alcohol. The alcohol-attributable admissions were significantly younger with a higher level of deprivation (both p<0.05). Discussion: Almost one fifth of admissions to our ICU were attributable to alcohol, representing a substantial impact of alcohol attributable disease on intensive care resources in South West Wales.