INTRODUCTION: Consumption of alcohol by psychiatric patients can lead to many negative consequences. The objectives of this study were to identify the problematic use of alcohol in a group of psychiatric outpatients and to verify if this consumption was documented in their medical records by psychiatry medical residents. METHODS: Descriptive and cross-sectional study, carried out at the psychiatric outpatient clinic of a university hospital located in Ribeirão Preto, stat of São Paulo, Brazil. A convenience sample comprising 127 psychiatric outpatients was used. Data were collected using an interview (sociodemographic data and alcohol disorder screening instrument - CAGE) and by means of a review of all the notes written by psychiatry residents on medical charts (questionnaire for collecting data from the records). For data analysis, the CAGE cutoff points > 1 and > 2 were used. RESULTS: At CAGE > 1, 33.9% were CAGE positive (n = 43). Among the individuals with a positive CAGE score, 60.5% (n = 26) had no record of alcohol use on their medical charts (chi-square = 20.12; p < 0.001). At CAGE > 2, 16.5% were CAGE positive (n = 21). In 38.1% (n = 8) of these cases, alcohol use was not documented on their medical charts (chi-square = 29.10; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Undernotification of alcohol use was high. Topics related to early identification of and intervention for alcohol use-related problems should be included in the training of psychiatry residents.
Diagnosis; outpatients; psychiatry; alcoholism