The purpose of the study described in this scientific poster was to determine the relationship between pre-injury alcohol consumption and attribution of injury to alcohol involvement in non-alcohol dependent young adults seriously injured in motor vehicle crashes (MVCs). The authors determined pre-injury alcohol consumption from the admitting blood alcohol concentration (BAC) drawn upon arrival in an Emergency Department (ED) in the USA. They defined attribution of injury to alcohol involvement as the patient's perception of the degree to which drinking beer, wine, or spirits contributed to the traumatic injury. Data were collected from September 1, 1994, through August 1, 1998. Both intoxicated subjects and subjects with positive BAC without legal intoxication (BAC 10 to 99 mg/dL) were enrolled in the study. All interviews were completed when subjects were free of alcohol. 132 subjects (102 men and 30 women) were entered into the study. The mean age of subjects was 28.77 years, mean injury severity score (ISS) was 11.34, and mean admitting BAC was 163.48 mg/dL. The results of the study showed that a large proportion (more than 60%) of non-alcohol dependent patients injured in vehicular crashes do indeed attribute their injury partially or totally to alcohol use.
Abstract