Effects of alcohol and other drugs on traumatized patients
E. R. Thal, R. O. Bost and R. J. Anderson
During a six-month period, blood was drawn from 615 traumatized patients
for alcohol determination and general toxicology screen. The patients were
divided into four groups: alcohol only, other drugs only, alcohol and other
drugs, and no alcohol or other drugs. Each group was analyzed for severity
of injury, length of hospitalization, complications, and mortality. In 362
patients (58.9%) we found alcohol in the blood; 74% had alcohol levels
greater than 100 mg/dL. Twenty patients (3.3%) had other drugs, while 34
patients (5.5%) had both alcohol and other drugs. There were no differences
between the groups except that the patients with drugs only had a
significantly higher incidence of shock, severity of injury, and mortality.
