Anaesthesia
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Alcohol-related disease adversely affects the outcome of critically ill patients. The burden of this in Scotland is higher than elsewhere in the United Kingdom. In a prospective observational study of all patients admitted to the 24 intensive care units in Scotland we assessed the proportion of admissions in which alcohol-related disease was implicated. ⋯ The alcohol-related group had a significantly longer period of ventilation with a median (IQR [range]) of 2 (1-6 [0-176]) vs 1 (0-4 [0-136]) days (p<0.005). Admissions from an area of deprivation were more likely to be related to alcohol. Alcohol-related admissions have a significant impact on Scottish intensive care services, with an extrapolated cost of £8.9 million per year.