Relationship between blood alcohol levels and trauma scores of patients presenting to emergency department with trauma

Objective: Trauma is the leading cause of death in young population. The aim of the current study is to determine the effect of blood alcohol level (BAL) on trauma severity, hospitalization and operation requirement, emergency department (ED) and hospital course. Methods: The study included patients older than 18 years presenting to level-1 trauma center. BAL values less than 100 mg/dl were classified as normal, and those more than 100 mg/dl as intoxicated. Abbreviated Injury Severity Score (AIS), Injury Severity Score (ISS) and Revised Trauma Score (RTS) were used as trauma scores. The relationship between BAL and patients' sex, age, vital signs, ED and hospital course, hospitalization and operation requirement is studied. Results: From a total of 2755 patients, 2367 (%85.9) patients had blunt, 388 (%14.1) patients had penetrating trauma. Young and male patients had higher BAL than female and older patients (p=0.000). BAL in blunt trauma patients were higher than BAL in penetrating trauma patients (p=0.000). No significant relationship was found between head (p=0.155), neck (p=0.453), thorax (p=0.742), abdomen (p=0.098), pelvis (p=0.230) and extremity (p=0.079) trauma severity, RTS (p=0.127) and BAL. BAL in patients with ISS less than 25 had higher BAL than patients with ISS more than 25 (p=0.000). There is no significant relationship between BAL and hospitalization and operation requirement (p=0.793, 0.145), hospital stay time (p=0.618). Patients with high BAL stayed shorter at the ED (p=0.023). Conclusion: Although alcohol intoxication is an important risk factor in trauma, the current study failed to determine a significant relationship between higher BAL values and trauma severity, hospitalization rate, hospitalization and operation requirement. Patients with higher BAL had stayed shorter at ED.