RT Journal
A1 Kuehn BM
T1 DRinking and surgical risks
JF JAMA
JO JAMA
YR 2012
FD April 25
VO 307
IS 16
SP 1683
OP 1683
DO 10.1001/jama.2012.513
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2012.513
AB 
Previous research has suggested that high-risk drinking is associated with a greater risk of postsurgery complications and that preoperative interventions to reduce drinking may reduce such risks. The new study assessed whether patients with high risk drinking also required additional postoperative care (Rubinsky AD et al. J Am Coll Surg. 2012;214[3]:296-305). The authors analyzed data from 5171 patients in the VHA system who underwent major surgeries that were not emergencies or cardiac related. Patients who gave answers on a questionnaire that indicated they were high-risk drinkers spent nearly a day longer on average in the hospital and about 1.5 more days in the intensive care unit than patients who were classified as low-risk drinkers. But patients who were high-risk drinkers were not more likely to be readmitted within 30 days of discharge than patients who were low-risk drinkers.