Alcohol-related hospitalisations of trauma patients in Southern Taiwan: a cross-sectional study based on a trauma registry system

作者:Rau Cheng Shyuan; Liu Hang Tsung; Hsu Shiun Yuan; Cho Tzu Yu; Hsieh Ching Hua*
来源:BMJ Open, 2014, 4(10): e005947.
DOI:10.1136/bmjopen-2014-005947

摘要

Objectives: To provide an overview of the demographic characteristics of patients with positive blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and to investigate the performance of brain CT scans in these patients. %26lt;br%26gt;Design: Cross-sectional study. %26lt;br%26gt;Setting: Taiwan. %26lt;br%26gt;Participants: 2192 patients who had undergone a test for blood alcohol of 13 233 patients registered in the Trauma Registry System between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2012. A BAC level of 50 mg/dL was defined as the cut-off value. Detailed information was retrieved from the patients with positive BAC (n=793) and was compared with information from those with a negative BAC (n=1399). %26lt;br%26gt;Main outcome measures: Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and Injury Severity Score (ISS) as well as the performance and findings of obtained brain CT scans. %26lt;br%26gt;Results: Patients with positive BAC had a higher rate of face injury, but a lower GCS score, a lower rate of head and neck injury, a lower ISS and New Injury Severity Score. Alcohol use was associated with a shorter length of hospital stay (8.6 vs 11.4 days, p=0.000) in patients with an ISS of %26lt;16. Of 496 patients with positive BAC who underwent brain CT, 164 (33.1%) showed positive findings on CT scan. In contrast, of 891 patients with negative BAC who underwent brain CT, 389 (43.7%) had positive findings on CT scan. The lower percentage of positive CT scan findings in patients with positive BAC was particularly evident in patients with an ISS %26lt;16 (18.0% vs 28.8%, p=0.001). %26lt;br%26gt;Conclusions: Patients who consumed alcohol tended to have a low GCS score and injuries that were less severe. However, given the significantly low percentage of positive findings, brain CT might be overused in these patients with less severe injuries.

  • 出版日期2014
  • 单位长春大学