Needs in adolescents

doi:10.1136/bmj.39513.687292.80

BMJ 2008;336:573 (15 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.39513.687292.80

Letters

Tackling alcohol misuse

Needs in adolescents

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Parker et al’s review of the diagnosis and treatment ofalcohol misuse did not deal with the problems and needs of adolescentdrinkers, who often present to emergency departments when drunk.¹Alcohol misuse is common in this age group and its incidenceis rising, at great cost to individuals, families, and widersociety. It is significantly associated with risk of suicide,violence, and accidents—the most common causes of deathfor young people.² It is also an important marker of serioussocial problems, with significantly higher levels of physicaland sexual abuse within the family for teenage drinkers, issuesthat must be explored with all those who present to health services.³

Despite this, emergency department doctors often don’tscreen for alcohol misuse in young people and are poor at recognisingit without formalised screening tools. AUDIT and its derivativescan be used in adolescents, although lower cut-off scores thanfor adults . . . [Full text of this article]

Kelsey D J Jones, academic clinical fellow in paediatrics¹, David Porter, clinical fellow in emergency medicine², Huw Williams, clinical fellow in emergency medicine²

¹ Department of Paediatrics, Imperial College (St Mary’s Campus), Wright-Fleming Institute, London W2 1PG, ² St Mary’s Hospital, London W2 1NY

kelseyjones@gmail.com

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