Background: Screening and treatment for unhealthy alcohol use (UAU) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) is recommended but underutilized, particularly in inpatient settings. Initiating interventions during hospitalization can reduce UAU and may improve clinical outcomes. Methods: We implemented screening and treatment for UAU at a safety-net hospital in Austin, Texas. Nurses screen admitted patients with the [...]

Background: Patients with substance use disorders (SUD) are frequently cared for by hospitalists and admission presents an opportunity to engage patients in SUD treatment. Currently, patients with SUD are undertreated with medications to treat SUD, despite proven reduction in mortality. Addiction consult services are increasingly seen as an intervention to improve the quality of care [...]

Background: Cocaine use disorders are a significant public health challenge, contributing to cardiovascular, neurological, and psychiatric complications. Chronic use exacerbates these risks and increases addiction rates. This study evaluates global, regional, and national trends in the burden of cocaine use disorders from 1990 to 2019 to inform targeted intervention strategies. Methods: Using the Global Burden [...]

Background: Overdose-related deaths in adolescents have increased, making recognition and treatment of substance use (SU) an issue of critical importance. However, pediatricians are failing to screen and manage SU withdrawal among hospitalized adolescents. Driving factors include no standard process, addiction specialists’ discomfort in treating pediatrics, and discomfort in inpatient providers in managing addiction. Through this [...]

Background: Addiction medicine services are a critical component of care for patients suffering from opioid use disorder. Previous research has indicated that opioid use disorder patients have higher lengths of stay (LOS) and higher hospital readmission rates than patients admitted for a different medical condition. Even though the presence of a specialized team of addiction [...]

Background: Patients with substance use disorders (SUDs) are at high risk for blood borne viruses (BBV) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).1 Syphilis infections, in particular, have dramatically increased over the past decade. More patients with syphilis infections are reporting injection drug use.2 Hospitalization is considered a “reachable moment” for this vulnerable patient population.3 Yet, screening [...]

Case Presentation: A 57-year-old male with past medical history of alcohol-induced chronic pancreatitis complicated by chronic pain, opioid use disorder (OUD) on methadone, and depression on sertraline presented to the emergency department with dizziness, dyspnea, and nausea. About six months prior to admission, he had been transitioned from buprenorphine to methadone for better pain control. [...]