Alcohol-related emergency department injury presentations in Queensland adolescents and young adults over a 13-year period

• Published in: Drug and alcohol review 2015-03, Vol.34 (2), p.177-184
• Main Authors: Hides, Leanne, Limbong, Jesani, Vallmuur, Kirsten, Barker, Ruth, Daglish, Mark, Young, Ross McD
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accidental Falls; Adolescent; Adolescents; alcohol; Alcohol Drinking - epidemiology; Alcohol Drinking - therapy; Alcohol Drinking - trends; alcohol-related injury; Australia; emergency department; Emergency Medical Services; Emergency Service, Hospital - trends; Female; Females; Humans; Injuries; injury; injury surveillance; Male; Queensland - epidemiology; Self Destructive Behavior; Surveillance; Time Factors; Wounds and Injuries - epidemiology; Wounds and Injuries - therapy; Young Adult; Young Adults; Youth
• ISSN: 0959-5236; 1465-3362
• DOI: 10.1111/dar.12218

Introduction and Aims The rate of alcohol‐related emergency department (ED) presentations in young people has increased dramatically in recent decades. Injuries are the most common type of youth alcohol‐related ED presentation, yet little is known about these injuries in young people. This paper describes the characteristics of alcohol‐related ED injury presentations in young people over a 13‐year period and determines if they differ by gender and/or age group (adolescents: 12–17 years; young adults: 18–24 years). Design and Method The Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit (QISU) database collects injury surveillance data at triage in participating EDs throughout Queensland, Australia. A total of 4667 cases of alcohol‐related injuries in young people (aged 12–24 years) were identified in the QISU database between January 1999 and December 2011, using an injury surveillance code and nursing triage text‐based search strategy. Results Overall, young people accounted for 38% of all QISU alcohol‐related ED injury presentations in patients aged 12 years or over. The majority of young adults presented with injuries due to violence and falls, whereas adolescents presented due to self‐harm or intoxication without other injury. Males presented with injuries due to violence, whereas females presented with alcohol‐related self‐harm and intoxication. Discussion and Conclusions There is a need for more effective ways of identifying the degree of alcohol involvement in injuries among young people presenting to EDs. [Hides L, Limbong J, Vallmuur K, Barker R, Daglish M, Young RMcD. Alcohol‐related emergency department injury presentations in Queensland adolescents and young adults over a 13‐year period. Drug Alcohol Rev 2015;34:177–184]