ADVERTISEMENT
Addiction Medicine Consult for Hospitalized Patients Reduces 90-Day Mortality
In-hospital addiction medicine consultations appear to reduce deaths among patients with substance use disorder, according to study results published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
“In the past, we often ignored substance use withdrawal or failed to link patients to any substance use treatment during hospitalization. We repeatedly lost the opportunity to intervene during a time when patients often were more amenable to help,” said study lead author Deanna Wilson, MD, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “Having a hospital-based addiction medicine consult team is a hospital-level intervention that allows us to save patients’ lives.”
The study looked readmissions, emergency department visits, and 90-day mortality among 711 hospitalized patients with alcohol and/or opioid use disorders referred to addiction medicine consultation services (AMCS) from October 2018 to March 2020. Researchers compared the numbers with data for 2172 patients hospitalized the previous 12 months, who served as matched controls.
>> WATCH: Strategies for Managing Opioid Risk in Chronic Pain Patients
Compared with propensity-matched controls, patients referred to AMCS had significantly lower 90-day mortality risk, the study showed. While medication likely played a large part in reducing mortality risk in patients with opioid use disorders, the impact of medication in those with alcohol use disorder was less strong. Researchers believe other components of the AMCS team may have played an important role.
The impact on hospital utilization was mixed. Among patients referred to AMCS compared with matched controls, 7-day hospital readmissions decreased significantly, 30-day readmissions decreased (but not significantly), and 30-day emergency department visits increased significantly.
Researchers concluded the AMCS intervention is an effective tool for improving patient health.
“The addiction medicine consult team is a delivery model that can be adapted to each health system,” said Dr Wilson, “can serve as a way to easily integrate and offer effective medication and behavioral therapies as they are developed, and has the potential to save lives.”
References
