BACKGROUND: Alcohol dependents seeking specialized alcohol treatment present modest rates of success in treatment programs. Alcohol dependents with gastrointestinal diseases present a worse prognostic and increased mortality rate compared with other non-alcoholic gastroenterology outpatients and the general population. OBJECTIVE: To present the results of a study verifying outcomes of alcohol dependents following their treatment in one of two different clinic types. METHODS: Follow-up study on 228 alcohol dependents: 114 from a specialist alcohol treatment service and 144 from a gastroenterology clinic, both located within the Hospital São Paulo (Unifesp). RESULTS: A high rate of mortality was found for the overall sample (15%; n = 34), with 70.5% (n = 24) of these deaths occurring in the gastroenterology clinic. The outpatients from the specialist alcohol treatment service were younger and more severely dependent on alcohol, having suffered from more alcohol-related problems in both emotional and mental health aspects. Patients in the gastroenterology group reported less pain but greater social compromise. CONCLUSION: Constant adaptation of interventions to meet alcohol dependents' needs was evidenced, along with a need to implement more effective treatment approaches, coupled with psychosocial interventions to tackle drink use within the gastroenterology clinic itself.
Alcoholic drinks; alcoholism; gastroenterology; treatment; follow-up studies
