Literature Search and Abstraction
In 2005 a systematic review of the literature to help ensure
comparability of the estimates used to rank preventive services
was completed.2,6 The literature review and estimates
focused on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of interventions
that could be conducted in busy primary care practices
on most of their alcohol-misusing patients, and that were
tested under conditions consistent with those criteria. Trials
of more intensive counseling or of interventions involving
many follow-up contacts were eliminated as not feasible and
outside the scope of the USPSTF recommendation. Seventy
meta-analyses and systematic reviews of alcohol-misuse treatments
were identified in PubMed from January 1992 through
September 3, 2004. Another 1667 original articles were found
in PubMed from January 2000 through October 25, 2004,
including some articles referenced in the systematic reviews.
These articles were reviewed against the following criteria, all
of which had to be met for abstraction: (1) all services must be
delivered in the primary care setting, (2) the population must
not be restricted to those dependent on alcohol, (3) there
must be a control group, (4) each intervention arm must have