Although excessive alcohol consumption is by far the most frequent cause of recurrent
acute pancreatitis (AP) cases, specific therapy is still not well established to prevent
recurrence. Generally, psychological therapy (e.g., brief intervention (BI)) is the
cornerstone of cessation programs; however, it is not yet widely used in everyday
practice. We conducted a post-hoc analysis of a prospectively collected database.
Patients suffering from alcohol-induced AP between 2016 and 2021 received 30 min BI
by a physician. Patient-reported alcohol consumption, serum gamma-glutamyl-transferase
(GGT) level, and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) of red blood cells were collected on
admission and at the 1-month follow-up visit to monitor patients' drinking habits.
Ninety-nine patients with alcohol-induced AP were enrolled in the study (mean age:
50 ± 11, 89% male). A significant decrease was detected both in mean GGT value (294
± 251 U/L vs. 103 ± 113 U/L, p < 0.001) and in MCV level (93.7 ± 5.3 U/L vs. 92.1
± 5.1 U/L, p < 0.001) in patients with elevated on-admission GGT levels. Notably,
79% of the patients (78/99) reported alcohol abstinence at the 1-month control visit.
Brief intervention is an effective tool to reduce alcohol consumption and to prevent
recurrent AP. Longitudinal randomized clinical studies are needed to identify the
adequate structure and frequency of BIs in alcohol-induced AP.
