Alcohol abuse
Habitual excessive alcohol consumption causes 100,000 deaths annually in the United States.1 Although more than one million adults are under treatment for alcoholism, a far greater number engage in drinking that injures their health or has social consequences. The Institute of Medicine estimates that 20% of the population of the United States are problem drinkers, but only 5% are alcohol dependent.17 Therefore, it is important to distinguish alcohol dependence from problem drinking. Alcohol dependence is associated with major withdrawal symptoms, tolerance, complete loss of self-control, and preoccupation with drinking. Problem drinking, on the other hand, is a less severe condition. Problem drinkers are younger, have a shorter drinking history, have fewer alcohol-related job problems, and have better social resources. In community surveys, the prevalence of problem drinking has been shown to be highest in young men (17% to 24% in 18- to 29-year-olds) and lowest in men and women older than 65 years (1% to 3% and less than 1%, respectively). Women are more frequently problem drinkers than alcohol dependent.
Problem drinking has consequences that affect others, such as motor vehicle accidents, fetal-alcohol syndrome, unsafe sex, domestic violence, and psychological damage to children of problem drinkers. Binge drinking, which is especially prevalent in young adults, leads to violence, unsafe sex, and drunk driving.
Screening for problem drinking and alcohol dependence can be time consuming, and most methods are inaccurate. The gold-standard test for alcoholism is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) criteria, which require a detailed interview and do not constitute a suitable screening instrument. Results of physical examination and laboratory tests are often normal in problem drinkers. Screening questionnaires such as the modified Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST), the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and the CAGE test are the most accurate instruments for detecting problem drinking2 [see Tables 4 and 5 and 13:III Alcohol Abuse and Dependency]. The questions in the MAST and CAGE instruments focus on alcohol dependence and are much less sensitive or specific for binge drinking. The AUDIT screening instrument2 may be more generally useful because it also asks about quantity of alcohol imbibed, frequency of drinking, and binge behavior. The CAGE and MAST questionnaires may also fail to detect a level of alcohol use that is dangerous during pregnancy.
The treatment of problem drinking depends on the severity of the problem. Problem drinkers often respond to brief office interventions (as short as 10 or 15 minutes), which use motivational techniques such as goal setting, contracts, and enhancing self-efficacy. In most instances, the goal is usually controlled moderate drinking rather than abstinence. The first step toward successful counseling is to get the patient to recognize that there is a problem. It is important to help the patient see a relationship between drinking and current medical or psychosocial problems. Strong advice to reduce consumption is also important. Regular follow-up visits to monitor progress are just as important for problem drinkers as they are for patients with high blood pressure.18 One meta-analysis of brief intervention trials for nondependent problem drinkers showed a reduction of 24% in average alcohol con-sumption.19 Another meta-analysis of nine studies showed somewhat smaller effects. In five of nine studies in men, the number of drinks a week decreased (range of decrease, five to 20 a week). The effects in women were smaller.
Table 4 Test Performance of Screening Questionnaires for Alcohol Abuse2
|
Screening Instrument |
Number of Items |
Sensitivity (%) |
Specificity (%) |
Likelihood Ratio Positive |
Likelihood Ratio Negative |
|
MAST |
25 |
84-100 |
87-95 |
10.2 |
0.10 |
|
CAGE |
4 |
74-89 |
79-95 |
6.3 |
0.21 |
|
AUDIT* |
10 |
96 |
96 |
24 |
0.04 |
|
AUDIT+ |
10 |
61 |
90 |
6.1 |
0.43 |
*In inner-city clinic population.
+In rural clinic.
AUDIT—Alcoholism Use Disorders Identification Test CAGE
|
Table 5 The CAGE Questionnaire |
|
C: Have you ever felt you ought to Cut down on drinking? |
|
A: Have people Annoyed you by criticizing your drinking? |
|
G: Have you ever felt bad or Guilty about your drinking? |
|
E: Have you ever had a drink in the morning to steady your nerves or get rid of a hangover (Eye-opener)? |
In contrast to the success of brief office-based interventions for problem drinking, successful treatment of alcohol dependence requires intensive therapy from specialists in substance abuse. A randomized trial of employees with alcohol dependence showed the importance of intervening intensively. Participants were randomly allocated to compulsory 3-week hos-pitalization followed by 1 year of attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings, mandatory attendance at AA meetings at least three times a week, or a choice of treatment. Rates of being fired from work were similar in all groups, but rates for hospitalization for additional alcohol treatment were much lower in the mandatory-hospitalization group.22
The personal physician does have an important role to play in the management of patients with alcohol dependence. In addition to managing medical complications of alcoholism, physicians should be able to use adjunctive therapy for alcohol dependence, such as naltrexone. Another key role for the personal physician is encouragement. Patients need to know that the abstinence rate can be as high as 60% at 10 years after intensive treatment. Finally, the personal physician can lead efforts to help patients solve life problems that are contributing to alcohol dependence.
Drug abuse
The abuse of illicit and legal drugs is a large problem in the United States. A 2001 household survey showed that use of illicit drugs within the previous month peaked among 18 to 20 year olds, at 22.4%, and declined steadily with increasing age. Casual use of marijuana accounts for most of these reports, but as many as 1.7 million Americans use cocaine weekly and 130,000 use heroin. The drug abuser is at risk for many medical complications, but the social cost of drug abuse far outweighs the personal costs. Illicit drug use plays a major role in spreading HIV infection and in homicide, suicide, and motor vehicle accidents. The health care costs of drug abuse are estimated to be $3.2 billion annually, and the cost of federal and state government efforts to stem the flow of illicit drugs is several times higher [see 13:VI Drug Abuse and Addiction].
Many professional organizations recommend that physicians ask about drug abuse as part of a periodic health examination of a well person. However, learning about drug abuse may be difficult in the office setting. Patients may be unwilling to acknowledge drug abuse until presented with incontrovertible evidence or after persistent questioning by an alerted physician. There is little information about the accuracy of the history or questionnaires in detecting drug abuse.
Toxicologic testing is the best way to detect illicit drug use.
Compared with reference tests, current tests can detect drugs in the urine with 99% sensitivity. However, detection depends on when the patient supplies the specimen relative to the last drug exposure. Marijuana is detectable up to 14 days after use, whereas cocaine, opiates, amphetamines, and barbiturates are present for only 2 to 4 days after use.
Although physicians sometimes test for illicit drugs without obtaining the patient’s consent, they do so in the context of trying to determine the cause of a clinical problem that could be caused by an illicit drug. Whether it is ethical to test for illicit drugs in an apparently healthy person who is at high risk for drug abuse is an open question. Regardless of the circumstances leading to testing, abnormal results deserve the physician’s best efforts to maintain confidentiality, because they may affect the patient’s employability, insurability, and personal relationships. At present, no professional organization recommends drug testing in apparently healthy people.
Physicians must learn to think of drug abuse as a chronic disease. Recidivism after intensive treatment programs is very common, no doubt in part because psychiatric disorders, unemployment, and homelessness often coexist with drug abuse. On the other hand, treating heroin abuse with maintenance methadone, an opioid agonist, can dramatically reduce the social effects of abusing the drug. Heroin addicts in methadone maintenance programs report less use of heroin and reduced rates of HIV infection, criminal behavior, and unemployment. There is no similarly effective treatment for cocaine addiction. Changes in the law now encourage methadone maintenance in office practice. Physicians who wish to treat their regular patients will need to learn about the new regulations.23
Health Risks from Accidents and Violence
A person’s environment contains many threats to health: motor vehicle accidents, accidents in the home, recreation-related accidents, and domestic violence. Passive strategies, which change the environment in which accidents can occur, are generally more successful at accident prevention than active strategies, which require people to change their behavior. Improving roads saves more lives than exhorting people to drive carefully. For a fuller account, refer to the report of the USPSTF2 and to a comprehensive review published in 1997.24
Motor vehicle injuries
Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of loss of potential years of life before age 65. Alcohol-related accidents account for 44% of all motor vehicle deaths. One can experience a motor vehicle accident as an occupant, as a pedestrian, or as a bicycle or motorcycle rider.
Injuries to Motor Vehicle Occupants
In 2000, 37,409 people died of injuries sustained in motor vehicle accidents in the United States.25 The two greatest risk factors for death while one is driving a motor vehicle are driving while intoxicated and failing to use a seat belt. The physician’s role is to identify patients with alcoholism [see Alcohol Abuse, above], to inquire about seat-belt use, and to counsel people to use seat belts and child car seats routinely. In one study, 53.5% of patients in a university internal medicine practice did not use seat belts. Problem drinking, physical inactivity, obesity, and low income were indicators of nonuse. The prevalence of nonuse was 91% in people with all four indicators and only
25% in those with no indicators.25 Seat belts confer considerable protection, yet in one survey, only 3.9% of university clinic patients reported that a physician had counseled them about using seat belts.25
Three-point restraints reduce the risk of death or serious injury by 45%.26 Air bags reduce the risk of death by an additional 6% in drivers using seat belts.27 Because air bags reduce the risk of death by only 14% in unbelted drivers,27 physicians must tell their patients not to rely on air bags.
Injuries to Motorcyclists
Motorcycle deaths in the United States have been rising since 1997, reaching 3,181 in 2001.28 The chance of death per mile when one is riding a motorcycle is 35 times higher than when one is riding in an automobile. Most deaths are caused by head injuries. Helmets reduce the risk of a fatal head injury by 27%, but only 50% of riders use helmets. Laws mandating helmet use are quite effective; the rate of helmet use rose to 95% in California after passage of a law, and the rate of head injuries dropped by 34%. Substance abuse is very common among injured motorcyclists.
Physicians should inquire about motorcycle use. They should redouble their efforts to screen for substance abuse in motorcyclists and should recommend using helmets.
Injuries to Pedestrians
Pedestrian injuries caused by motor vehicles accounted for 4,739 deaths in 2000, a 27% decrease from 1990. Children are at greatest risk for injury. Among adults, the elderly are at greatest risk, principally because of sensory deficits, locomotor disability, and inability to process simultaneous stimuli.
Injuries to Cyclists
Each year, there are approximately 900 deaths from bicycle injuries in the United States.29 Children are at greatest risk. Head injuries account for two thirds of hospitalizations and three quarters of deaths related to bicycling. A meta-analysis of case-control studies showed that use of safety helmets reduced the risk of head injuries by 63% to 88%.29 Helmets are effective for all ages and provide protection even in collisions with motor vehicles. Community-based education efforts have raised the rate of helmet use to 50%. Physicians should ask about bicycle use and counsel riders to use safety helmets.
injuries from falling
Falling is a serious health risk for older persons [see Table 6]. The lifetime risk of hip fracture, perhaps the most important consequence of a fall, is 40% for a 50-year-old woman. One approach to reducing the risk of hip fracture is to prevent osteoporosis. Strategies for prevention of osteoporosis include vitamin D and supplementation of dietary calcium intake,30 drugs that increase bone mass, such as etidronate and alendronate, and estrogen replacement after menopause. In a cohort study, weight-bearing exercise, such as walking, was associated with a 40% lower risk of hip fracture in women and a 50% lower risk in men.31 Exercise works in part by increasing bone mass and in part by reducing the likelihood of a fall. Combined interventions that included home visits, modifying home hazards, and exercise and gait programs reduced the risk of falls by 31% in a randomized clinical trial.32 Physicians should identify patients who are at greatest risk for falling [see Table 6], treat osteoporosis, and link the patient to community-based programs for im-proving mobility and reducing hazards in the home.
|
Table 6 Risk Factors for Falls among the Elderly |
|
|
Prior falls |
Low body mass index |
|
Cognitive impairment |
Female sex |
|
Chronic illness |
General frailty |
|
Balance and gait impairment |
Hazards in the home |
Hip pads are also effective; in a randomized trial, a pad worn over each hip reduced the risk of hip fracture from 46 per 1,000 patient-years to 21.3 per 1,000 patient-years (P = 0.008).33
Injuries from fire
Prevention of death from fires is an example of a successful passive strategy. Smoke detectors prevent fire injury. A study in Oklahoma City measured the effects of door-to-door distribution of smoke detectors to residents of an area that had much higher rates of burn injuries than the rest of the city. The fire-injury rate declined 80%, to the same level as that in the rest of the city. The injury rate per fire also declined dramatically.34 Physicians should inquire about smoke detectors in the home and recommend them to people who don’t have them. Persons who are alcohol dependent or who smoke in bed are at high risk and need special effort.
Drowning
In most instances of witnessed drowning, bystanders report that the victim becomes motionless while swimming or simply fails to surface after a dive. Struggle is unusual. This observation raises the possibility that many cases of drowning occur when something such as a seizure, an arrhythmia, or an injury occurs.35
All victims of immersion have hypoxemia. Aspirated freshwater is hypotonic and therefore rapidly absorbed by the pulmonary circulation and distributed throughout the body water compartment. Freshwater alters pulmonary surfactant and causes alveolar collapse and atelectasis. Saltwater is hypertonic and draws water into the alveoli, causing perfused but poorly ventilated alveoli and hypovolemia with concentration of electrolytes. The end result with both types of water is venous admixture and hypoxemia, often resulting in metabolic acidosis. Saltwater drowning often leads to hypovolemia as well.
The main goal of treatment is to prevent brain injury.35 The first step is to initiate cardiopulmonary resuscitation if the victim is apneic and pulseless. The American Heart Association recommends abdominal thrusts only to clear the airway in case of suspected foreign-body aspiration or failure to respond to artificial ventilation. Supplemental oxygen is indicated as long as the patient is hypoxemic. The most effective single treatment of hyp-oxemia is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), using mechanical ventilation to expand collapsed alveoli caused by freshwater immersion.35 Hypothermia, which often accompanies near-drowning, can protect the brain from injury by reducing its metabolic requirements when the patient is hypoxemic.
Most efforts to prevent drowning focus on children, for whom the passive strategy of requiring fencing around swimming pools is associated with reduced drowning rates. In adults, alcohol ingestion is a risk factor for drowning. The efficacy of personal flotation devices is not known. Relatively few boaters (14%) wear personal flotation devices, but this rate is similar to that of drowning victims. Physicians should ask patients whether they use boats recreationally and advise avoiding alcohol and using a personal flotation device while boating.
|
Domestic Violence Information on the Internet |
|
Medical Resources Family Peace Project http://www.family.mcw.edu/d_FamilyPeace.htm Domestic Violence: A Practical Approach for Clinicians http://www.sfms.org/domestic.html |
|
Legal Resources Women’s Law Initiative http://www.womenslaw.org American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence http://www.abanet.org/domviol/home.html |
Domestic violence
For women especially, the home is the most dangerous place. In one large study of women in a primary care clinic, one in 20 had experienced domestic violence in the previous year, one in four had experienced it as adults, and one in three had experienced it in their lifetime.36,37 A condition so prevalent in primary care practice demands the attention of the physician.
Among those abused in the previous year, approximately equal numbers had been abused once, two or three times, or four or more times. In this study, the definition of domestic violence was an affirmative answer to the question "Have you been hit, slapped, kicked, or otherwise physically hurt by someone?" or "Has anyone forced you to have sexual activities?" Generally, a husband, ex-husband, boyfriend, or relative is the abuser in domestic violence.
Most of the rapidly developing literature on domestic violence focuses on screening, diagnosis, and management, and there is little on preventing the first episode. Screening for domestic violence typically occurs in the office setting. Many authorities recommend that physicians routinely ask about domestic violence as part of the screening history.37,38 Domestic violence occurs in homosexual relationships as well, so it is best to ask both men and women. Some physicians introduce the question by saying that they are now asking all their patients about domestic abuse, in view of the growing awareness of the problem. Then they ask, "At any time [or since I last saw you] has your husband [lover, partner, boyfriend] hit, kicked, threatened, or otherwise frightened you?" If the patient replies in the affirmative, the physician should gather more information, including the name of the abuser, and record it. Because many people are ashamed of their situation and their inability to break out of it, the physician should avoid any judgmental statements other than to confirm that what is being done to the patient is wrong.
In many cases, patients will not disclose an abusive relationship but their medical and social history contains clues to the true situation. Somatic symptoms that are particularly indicative (prevalence ratio > 2.5) of an abusive relationship include multiple symptoms (especially with no apparent physical cause), poor appetite, nightmares, eating binges, pain in the pelvic region, vaginal discharge, musculoskeletal injuries, and diarrhea.36 Even more indicative are emotional symptoms such as high anxiety, severe depression, a high level of somatization, and low self-esteem; current or past use of street drugs; positive items on the CAGE questionnaire for alcohol abuse; a current or past drinking problem; a husband or partner who abuses alcohol or uses street drugs; a history of suicide attempt; and abuse as a child (prevalence ratio > 10.0 for all of these).36,39 Pregnancy is often associated with an escalation of violence.
Some abused patients will disclose a history of abuse, but many will not. Therefore, during the physical examination, the physician should be alert to signs of injury. One expert states that a woman who presents with any injury should be considered a victim of domestic abuse until proved otherwise.38 Trauma to the face, abdomen, breasts, or genitals is especially likely to be from domestic abuse, as are bilateral or multiple injuries, injuries in different stages of healing, and injuries that occurred well before the patient sought help. Injuries to the ulnar aspect of the elbows may occur as a woman raises her hands to protect herself during an assault.
Older persons are subject to several forms of abuse: self-neglect or caregiver neglect, emotional and psychological abuse, fiduciary exploitation, and physical abuse. Signs of elder abuse include bruising and other signs of trauma, malnutrition, volume depletion, and poor hygiene.
The physician should communicate concern and validate the patient’s belief that domestic abuse is wrong. The physician should not only provide medical treatment of injuries but also talk with the patient about how to avoid serious injury during an assault, review the patient’s options, and facilitate referral to community and other resources for abused partners [see Sidebar Domestic Violence Information on the Internet].
Injuries from firearms
The rate of death by firearms in the United States peaked at 39,595 in 1993, and it has since declined, reaching 28,663 in 2000.40,41 Firearms accounted for 992 accidental deaths, 13,677 homicides, and 17,767 suicides in 1997. In two large communities, 58% of suicide victims used a firearm. Seventy percent of the suicides occurred at home. Firearms kill more teenagers than all natural causes of death combined. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms estimates that there are 192 million firearms in private hands. Firearms, often bought for protection in the home, are far more dangerous to the occupants than to an intruder. After controlling for other suicide risk factors, the odds of suicide are 1.9 times greater in homes in which there is at least one gun.42,43 The odds of homicide are 2.2 times higher in homes in which there is a firearm.44
Physicians strongly support regulation of firearms and community efforts to restrict ownership.45 Physicians also have a role to play in preventing injury from firearms.46 They should inquire about firearms in the home and counsel owners about storing their firearms in a safe place. With the increased number of teenagers who own guns and commit homicide with guns, the need to educate parents is urgent. The American Academy of Pediatrics has developed an information kit for physicians to use in counseling parents and children. The kits, called Steps To Prevent Firearm Injury In The Home, are available without charge from the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, 1225 Eye Street NW, Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20005, or they can be obtained on the Internet, at http://www.bradycenter.com/stop2/.
