Tzong-Luen Wang, MD, PhD; Hon-Ping Ma, MD; Hou-Chi Hsu, MD

Abstract -- To understand the possible impacts of alcohol consumption as risk factors of accidental injury, we preliminarily investigated results of blood alcohol levels (BAL) in the victims with trauma. This prospective study has collected the data of traumatic victims included in trauma registry from January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2004. Injury severity score (ISS), causes of injury and outcome were recorded and analyzed. Follow-up study concerning recurrence of injury has been undergoing till July 2005. There were 8,713 patients during the study period; 6,689 (76.8%) of them were categorized as ISS less than 3 points, 1,844 (21.2%) ISS 4 to 10 points, 125 (1.4%) ISS 11-20 points and 54 (0.6%) ISS more than 20. Three thousands and four patients (34.5%) were due to traffic accident, 2,908 (33.4%) occupational injury, 989 (11.4%) sports injury, and 1,812 (20.7%) other causes. Of all, there were 1.1% (96/8,713) fatal injuries, among which 49 (51%) were ascribed to traffic accident, 11 (11%) occupational injury, 5 (5%) sports injury, and 31 (33%) other causes. The differences of fatal rate among different types of injuries were statistically significant (P<0.01). Seven hundreds and thirty-three (8.4%; 69% male and mean age 32+10 years) of the victims were detected to have positive BAL; 521 (71%) of them had BAL more than 50 mg/dL. The average ISS of those with negative BAL (Group N; n=7,980) was 1.4+1.8 points, that of those with BAL < 50 mg/dL (Group A1; n=212) 3.3+4.5 points, and that of those with BAL > 50 mg/dL (Group A2; n=733) 8.8+5.6 points (P<0.001). Logistic regression analysis revealed that there was a moderate positive association between ISS and BAL (r²=0.652, P<0.01). As to 96 fatal cases, 78 (81%) had BAL > 50 mg/dL (group A2), 10 were ascribed to Group A1, and 8 Group N. The relative risk of mortality among these three groups was statistically significant (15% in Group A2 vs. 5% in Group A1 vs. 0.1% in Group N, P<0.001). Recurrence of trauma was most frequent in those with habitual alcohol consumption during the following 6-month follow-up. In conclusion, alcohol consumption is associated with frequent traffic accidents, more sever injury, more mortality and more recurrence of injuries. Some educational interventions to prevent alcohol-related recurrent injury should be implemented in Taiwan.