The influence of the COVID-19 epidemic on hospitalizations due to alcohol consumption

INTRODUCTION: Excessive alcohol consumption is an ever-topical issue regardless of social or medical problems (pandemic). In these conditions (global medical crisis),to the problem of alcohol consumption has been added a new dimension. OBJECTIVES: The main purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospitalizations diagnosed with acute intoxication in the hospital. In Romania, the measures due to the pandemic were instituted starting with March 15 2020. METHODS: The study was performed retrospectively between 01.01.2020 - 30.09.2020 in the Psychiatric Hospital ‘Elisabeta Doamna’ Galati. ICD-10 criteria were used to establish the diagnosis of the disorder. RESULTS: In total, 458 cases were admitted during the period mentioned, of which 401 were male (87.56%), female 57 cases (12.44%). The average age of patients was 45.67 years ± 0.695, with minimum age of 19 years and maximum age of 93 years. The month with the most admissions was January with 80 (17.46%) March by 79 (17.25 %). The months with the fewest hospitalizations were April with 27 cases (5.89%) and July with 35 cases (7.64%). CONCLUSIONS: The analysis of the data shows that as measures specific to the epidemic crisis were instituted, the number of hospitalizations decreased significantly by about 3 times.