Alcohol, psychoactive substances and non-fatal road traffic accidents - a case-control study

ObjectivesThe rate of deaths caused by road traffic crashes is particularly high in rural areas. It has been hypothesised that one factor that may contribute is differences in patterns of alcohol use. The aim was to compare the prevalence of psychoactive substances among crash-involved drivers arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence (DUI) who are tested for alcohol and drugs and recent random drivers in a rural area. Furthermore, we investigated the association between traffic crashes and driving after using alcohol, illicit or medicinal drugs either alone or in combination.MethodsA case–control study was carried out in which the case group consisted of crash-involved drivers arrested for suspicion of DUI from 2000 to 2015. This group was compared with a control group of randomly selected drivers recruited to a roadside survey in normal traffic from 2014 to 2015. The case group consisted of 612 individuals (542 men and 70 women) and the control group of 3027 individuals (2099 men and 927 women). Drug and alcohol screening was performed on blood samples from the cases and samples of oral fluid from the controls.ResultsThe proportion of psychoactive substances was 81.7% among cases and 1.6% among the controls. The prevalence of combinations of psychoactive substances was 18% among the cases and 0.3% among the controls. The multivariate regression model analysis identified significant drug interactions.ConclusionThe prevalence of alcohol and drugs was high among the crash-involved drivers arrested for suspicion of DUI by the police. In contrast to earlier published research combinations of different psychoactive substances did not increase the OR for traffic crash involvement more than the single drug with highest OR. The statistical methodology presented in this study should be allied in future studies with greater statistical power to confirm these findings.

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Situational factors associated with road traffic crashes: A case–control study on the Yaoundé–Douala road section, Cameroon

International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion ◽

10.1080/17457301003728510 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 17 (4) ◽

pp. 215-222 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Junaid A. Bhatti ◽

Joëlle Sobngwi-Tambekou ◽

Emmanuel Lagarde ◽

Louis-Rachid Salmi

Keyword(s):

Case Control Study ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Case Control ◽

Situational Factors ◽

Traffic Crashes ◽

Road Traffic Crashes ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Road Section ◽

Control Study

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Road Traffic Pollution and Childhood Leukemia: A Nationwide Case-control Study in Italy

Archives of Medical Research ◽

10.1016/j.arcmed.2017.02.001 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 47 (8) ◽

pp. 694-705 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Corrado Magnani ◽

Alessandra Ranucci ◽

Chiara Badaloni ◽

Giulia Cesaroni ◽

Daniela Ferrante ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Childhood Leukemia ◽

Case Control Study ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Case Control ◽

Traffic Pollution ◽

Road Traffic Pollution ◽

Control Study

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Association between traumatic brain injury (TBI) patterns and mortality: a retrospective case-control study

F1000Research ◽

10.12688/f1000research.54658.1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

pp. 795

Author(s):

Gilbert Koome ◽

Faith Thuita ◽

Thaddaeus Egondi ◽

Martin Atela

Keyword(s):

Traumatic Brain Injury ◽

Brain Injury ◽

Hospital Care ◽

Case Control Study ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Case Control ◽

Trauma Mechanism ◽

Care Level ◽

Risk Of Death ◽

Control Study

Background: Low and medium income countries (LMICs) such as Kenya experience nearly three times more cases of traumatic brain injury (TBI) compared to high income countries (HICs). This is primarily exacerbated by weak health systems especially at the pre-hospital care level. Generating local empirical evidence on TBI patterns and its influence on patient mortality outcomes is fundamental in informing the design of trauma-specific emergency medical service (EMS) interventions at the pre-hospital care level. This study determines the influence of TBI patterns and mortality. Methods: This was a case-control study with a sample of 316 TBI patients. Data was abstracted from medical records for the period of January 2017 to March 2019 in three tertiary trauma care facilities in Kenya. Logistic regression was used to assess influence of trauma patterns on TBI mortality, controlling for patient characteristics and other potential confounders. Results: The majority of patients were aged below 40 years (73%) and were male (85%). Road traffic injuries (RTIs) comprised 58% of all forms of trauma. Blunt trauma comprised 71% of the injuries. Trauma mechanism was the only trauma pattern significantly associated with TBI mortality. The risk of dying for patients sustaining RTIs was 2.83 times more likely compared to non-RTI patients [odds ratio (OR) 2.83, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.62-4.93, p=0.001]. The type of transfer to hospital was also significantly associated with mortality outcome, with a public hospital having a two times higher risk of death compared to a private hospital [OR 2.18 95%CI 1.21-3.94, p<0.009]. Conclusion: Trauma mechanism (RTI vs non-RTI) and type of tertiary facility patients are transferred to (public vs private) are key factors influencing TBI mortality burden. Strengthening local EMS trauma response systems targeting RTIs augmented by adequately resourced and equipped public facilities to provide quality lifesaving interventions can reduce the burden of TBIs.

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