Abstract
Hospitalized medical and surgical patients with the progressive and fatal disease of alcoholism often experience serious complications during the withdrawal process. The lack of clear established standards, specific to the complications of alcohol withdrawal, compromise the care and management of the chemically dependent patient. Given the high costs of acute hospital beds, the importance of identifying and treating patients experiencing alcohol withdrawal is crucial. In our study, a systematic, multi-disciplinary approach to the management of these patients was implemented following a comprehensive training program. A quasi-experimental design with a nonequivalent control group was used to assess the differences between two hospital sites serving orthopedic trauma patients. Researchers examined the outcome of using this systematic approach in areas of length and degree of withdrawal, obstructive behavior, nursing job satisfaction, change in the knowledge level of the nurses, and patient's choice of community resource following discharge. The statistically significant findings included reduction of length of withdrawal, fewer documented incidents of obstructive behavior, and enhanced satisfaction related to interaction and communication between the patient and the nursing staff. The research process, which included education workshops, the patient care and management program, and weekly nursing rounds, has resulted in the standards being adopted by health care professionals into their current and ongoing practice on the experimental unit.