Background:
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused profound changes in the functioning of emergency medical services (EMS). This research was conducted to find out how the pandemic impacted EMS interventions involving patients after alcohol intake.

Material and methods:
This study covered EMS interventions that were reported from March 14, 2019, to March 13, 2021, in the eastern part of the Mazovia Province (Poland) and involved patients under the influence of alcohol. The research methodology combined descriptive statistics, Welch’s t-test, and the chi-square test.

Results:
The proportion of EMS interventions involving individuals after alcohol intake decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic (p<0.0001; 8.3% vs. 6.1%) compared to the pre-pandemic period. During the COVID-19 pandemic period, a medical emergency was diagnosed less frequently (p<0.0001; 43.3% vs. 76.3%). EMS interventions involving individuals following alcohol consumption were more frequently associated with a concomitant condition (p=0.0032; 29.0% vs. 25.5%) and elevated body temperature (p=0.0028; 1.6% vs. 0.8%). During the pandemic, patients involving alcohol intake more frequently exhibited aggressive behaviors compared the pre-pandemic period (p=0.0054; 3.2% vs. 2.0%).

Conclusions:
Although the number of EMS interventions involving individuals after alcohol intake decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, such interventions may still require considerable EMS resources.