This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on ISI (5)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related letter  • Similar articles in JAMA

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

To the Editor: The care of hospitalized patients may be complicated by an alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS), which is sometimes treated with ethanol. The evidence supporting this practice is weak, however,¹ and a recent meta-analysis concluded that benzodiazepines are the treatment of choice for AWS.² Despite this evidence, we have personally observed residents ordering oral and intravenous (IV) ethanol for AWS, and in a 2-state survey of a convenience sample we found that ethanol was dispensed to patients in 21 (91%) of 23 hospitals.³ The present study was conducted to examine the frequency of ethanol use for patient care in major American teaching hospitals.

Methods

For each allopathic US medical school we identified the primary university-affiliated hospital of the school's principal medicine and surgery residency programs, or the community hospital used by the greatest number of residents if there was no specific university hospital. An 18-item questionnaire, developed during our preliminary . . . [Full Text of this Article]

RELATED LETTER

Ethanol in Hospital Formularies
John G. Sotos
JAMA. 2003;289(18):2361.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Ethanol in Hospital Formularies
Sotos
JAMA 2003;289:2361-2361.
FULL TEXT  

Alcohol for Alcohol Withdrawal: Still Used?
JWatch Psychiatry 2003;2003:12-12.
FULL TEXT  

Alcohol for Alcohol Withdrawal: Still Used?
JWatch General 2003;2003:3-3.
FULL TEXT