Preoperative evaluation of alcohol consumption in older patients

Abstract Purpose This sub-analysis of the PROPDESC-study (Pre-Operative Prediction of postoperative delirium by appropriate Screening-study) evaluated the alcohol consumption of older patients with two different assessment tools (single sentence question and Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-...

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Main Authors: Vera Guttenthaler, Maria Wittmann, Jan Menzenbach
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-05-01
Series:Addiction Science & Clinical Practice
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13722-025-00569-8
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author Vera Guttenthaler
Maria Wittmann
Jan Menzenbach
author_facet Vera Guttenthaler
Maria Wittmann
Jan Menzenbach
author_sort Vera Guttenthaler
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Purpose This sub-analysis of the PROPDESC-study (Pre-Operative Prediction of postoperative delirium by appropriate Screening-study) evaluated the alcohol consumption of older patients with two different assessment tools (single sentence question and Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C)) and compared the results in regards to detection, reliability, and quantification of patient´s alcohol consumption. Methods During their anesthesiological pre-clinic visit 1084 patients older than 59 years were asked whether they consume alcohol daily and 668 of them additionally answered the AUDIT-C questionnaire. Results According to the SSQ 11.72% of the patients consumed alcohol daily. In the AUDIT-C sub-group 25.90% reported moderate to high alcohol consumption while infrequent or very low alcohol intake was reported by 41.92%. In the subgroup 31.89% of the patients stated alcohol abstinence. About one quarter (25.13%) of patients who denied daily alcohol intake but scored positive on the AUDIT-C displayed levels of alcohol consumption ranging from moderate (11.20%) to high (13.87%) according to the AUDIT-C. Conclusion Reliable information about alcohol consumption is related to the method of questioning. The AUDIT-C evaluates the patient´s alcohol intake precisely and identifies more older patients with possibly health- and surgery-relevant alcohol consumption levels. The validated AUDIT-C provides an objective assessment to the physician during the pre-clinic anesthesiologic consultation. Additionally, handing out a questionnaire to the patient encourages initiative and self-assessment and could also relieve both, the physician and the patient from sensing a moral evaluation of alcohol consumption.
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spelling doaj-art-ce929750a3e54bae951a354f28bbcd442025-08-20T02:34:04ZengBMCAddiction Science & Clinical Practice1940-06402025-05-0120111110.1186/s13722-025-00569-8Preoperative evaluation of alcohol consumption in older patientsVera Guttenthaler0Maria Wittmann1Jan Menzenbach2Clinic for Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital BonnClinic for Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital BonnClinic for Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital BonnAbstract Purpose This sub-analysis of the PROPDESC-study (Pre-Operative Prediction of postoperative delirium by appropriate Screening-study) evaluated the alcohol consumption of older patients with two different assessment tools (single sentence question and Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C)) and compared the results in regards to detection, reliability, and quantification of patient´s alcohol consumption. Methods During their anesthesiological pre-clinic visit 1084 patients older than 59 years were asked whether they consume alcohol daily and 668 of them additionally answered the AUDIT-C questionnaire. Results According to the SSQ 11.72% of the patients consumed alcohol daily. In the AUDIT-C sub-group 25.90% reported moderate to high alcohol consumption while infrequent or very low alcohol intake was reported by 41.92%. In the subgroup 31.89% of the patients stated alcohol abstinence. About one quarter (25.13%) of patients who denied daily alcohol intake but scored positive on the AUDIT-C displayed levels of alcohol consumption ranging from moderate (11.20%) to high (13.87%) according to the AUDIT-C. Conclusion Reliable information about alcohol consumption is related to the method of questioning. The AUDIT-C evaluates the patient´s alcohol intake precisely and identifies more older patients with possibly health- and surgery-relevant alcohol consumption levels. The validated AUDIT-C provides an objective assessment to the physician during the pre-clinic anesthesiologic consultation. Additionally, handing out a questionnaire to the patient encourages initiative and self-assessment and could also relieve both, the physician and the patient from sensing a moral evaluation of alcohol consumption.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13722-025-00569-8Alcohol consumptionAUDIT-CAnesthesiological evaluationPreoperative alcohol assessment
spellingShingle Vera Guttenthaler
Maria Wittmann
Jan Menzenbach
Preoperative evaluation of alcohol consumption in older patients
Addiction Science & Clinical Practice
Alcohol consumption
AUDIT-C
Anesthesiological evaluation
Preoperative alcohol assessment
title Preoperative evaluation of alcohol consumption in older patients
title_full Preoperative evaluation of alcohol consumption in older patients
title_fullStr Preoperative evaluation of alcohol consumption in older patients
title_full_unstemmed Preoperative evaluation of alcohol consumption in older patients
title_short Preoperative evaluation of alcohol consumption in older patients
title_sort preoperative evaluation of alcohol consumption in older patients
topic Alcohol consumption
AUDIT-C
Anesthesiological evaluation
Preoperative alcohol assessment
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s13722-025-00569-8
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