Investigators at 14 university-based U.S. emergency centers used a brief questionnaire to assess the alcohol use patterns of 7,751 emergency patients, whether they did or didn't have signs of alcohol use on admission.

More than one-quarter of the patients exceeded the limits for low-risk drinking -- defined as no more than four drinks per day for men and three drinks per day for women and not more than 14 drinks per week for men and seven drinks per week for women.

More than 1,100 patients who exceeded these limits agreed to continue to participate in the study. Some were assigned primary intervention, which consisted of a brief emergency room interview. They also received a written handout explaining low-risk drinking and a referral list of alcohol treatment providers. Patients in the control group received only the low-risk drinking handout and referral list.

Three months later, those in the intervention group reported drinking three fewer drinks per week than the controls, and more than one-third of individuals in the intervention group reported drinking at low-risk levels, compared with about one-fifth of those in the control group, the Annals of Emergency Medicine reported.