Cofactors of alcohol-related trauma at a rural trauma center

• Published in: The American journal of emergency medicine 1998-05, Vol.16 (3), p.228-231
• Main Authors: Ankney, Raymond N, Vizza, James, Coil, James A, Kurek, Stanley, DeFrehn, Richard, Shomo, Holly
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alcohol Drinking - adverse effects; Alcoholism and acute alcohol poisoning; Biological and medical sciences; Blood alcohol content; Child; Female; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Pennsylvania; rural; Rural Health; Sex Factors; Substance-Related Disorders - psychology; Toxicology; Trauma Centers; trauma patients; Unemployment - psychology; Wounds and Injuries - etiology; Wounds and Injuries - psychology
• ISSN: 0735-6757; 1532-8171
• DOI: 10.1016/S0735-6757(98)90089-4

To analyze the cofactors of alcohol-related trauma at a rural, Level II trauma center, 127 admitted trauma patients were interviewed about psychological problems, social factors, and medical histories. Patients were divided into two groups, blood alcohol content (BAC) positive and BAC negative, for analysis. Seventy-one patients (56%) were BAC negative; 56 (44%) were BAC positive. Forty-three of the 82 males (52%) had positive BAC tests, compared with 13 of the 45 females (29%) ( P = .01). Fifty-one of the 56 BAC-positive patients (91%) were aged 21 to 50 years, compared with 29 of the 71 BAC-negative patients (41%) ( P = .0001). Ten of the 12 patients (83%) who were recently unemployed were BAC positive, compared with 46 of the 115 patients (40%) who were not recently unemployed ( P = .004). Eleven of the 12 patients (92%) with positive drug screens were BAC positive, compared with 45 of the 115 patients (39%) with negative drug screens ( P = .0005). These results show that there are important cofactors of alcohol-related trauma in rural areas.