RESULTS OF A LONG-TERM ALCOHOLISM REHABIL ITATION PROGRAM IN CHILE

Background: Alcoholism is a serious public health problem in Chile and the best treatment strategy for this problem is far from being clear. Aim To assess the long term results of an alcoholism rehabilitation p rogram. Patients and methods: One hundred eighty two alcoholics admitt ed for treatment of their alcoholism were followed during two years in a special clinic. The effects of length of alcoholism withdrawal symp toms on admission and the presence of histological fiver damage on lon g term outcome were assessed using life table analysis. Results: Durin g the two years period, 75% of patients were lost from control and 63% relapsed in their alcoholic ingestion. None of the above mentioned pa rameters had an effect on relapse or loss from follow up. conclusions: There are high attrition and failure rates and the length of alcoholi sm degree of initial withdrawal and liver damage do not influence the long term results of this program.