Integrated hepatology and addiction care for inpatients with alcohol use disorder improves outcomes: a prospective study
Rachael Mahle, Paige McLean Diaz, Chantelle Marshall, Russell P. Goodman, Esperance Schaefer, Jay Luther
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Growing literature highlights the need to integrate hepatology and addiction care to improve outcomes for patients with alcohol use disorder and alcohol-associated liver disease. However, prospective data for this approach are lacking. METHODS: We prospectively examined the efficacy of an integrated hepatology and addiction medicine approach on alcohol use and hepatology outcomes in inpatients with alcohol use disorder. FINDINGS: An integrated approach improved the uptake of medical alcohol therapy, hepatic fibrosis screening, and viral hepatitis vaccination compared with a historical control of patients who received addiction medicine care alone. There were no differences in the rates of early alcohol remission. The integration of hepatology and addiction care may improve outcomes in patients with alcohol use disorder.