<p>Effect of Lowering the Blood Alcohol Concentration Limit to 0.03 Among Hospitalized Trauma Patients in Southern Taiwan: A Cross-Sectional Analysis</p>

OBJECTIVE: Although there is a considerable amount of data in the literature regarding the association between alcohol consumption and injuries treated in emergency rooms, little is known about the relationship between such injury and the use of other substances. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of substance use in patients admitted to the emergency room for non-fatal injuries. METHOD: A prospective cross-sectional study assessing all patients admitted to the emergency room within 6 hours after a non-fatal injury was conducted over a three-month period. The following were used as measures of alcohol and drug use: a standardized World Health Organization questionnaire; a self-administered questionnaire related to drug consumption within the 24 hours preceding contact; the Drug Abuse Screening Test; urine screens for cannabis, cocaine and benzodiazepines; and determination of blood alcohol concentration. Descriptive analyses were performed and the confidence interval used was 95%. RESULTS: A total of 353 patients were included. Cannabis and cocaine screens were conducted for 242 patients and benzodiazepine screens were conducted for 166. Blood alcohol concentrations reached the level of positivity in 11% (n = 39), and 10% (n = 33) presented some degree of intoxication. Among the 242 patients screened, 13.6% (n = 33) tested positive for cannabis, and 3.3% (n = 8) tested positive for cocaine, whereas 4.2% (n = 7) of the 166 patients screened tested positive for benzodiazepines. CONCLUSIONS: Substance use was highly prevalent among these individuals. In this sample, the frequency for the use of cannabis (an illicit drug) was comparable to that of alcohol. More studies are needed in order to characterize such use among Brazilians and to develop proper approaches to such cases, with the aim of reducing substance use and its consequences.

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The effect of lowering the legal blood alcohol concentration limit on driving under the influence (DUI) in southern Taiwan: a cross-sectional retrospective analysis

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2018-026481 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. e026481 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Yu-Chin Tsai ◽

Shao-Chun Wu ◽

Jin-Fu Huang ◽

Spencer C H Kuo ◽

Cheng-Shyuan Rau ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Blood Alcohol Concentration ◽

Alcohol Concentration ◽

Driving Under The Influence ◽

Concentration Limit ◽

Blood Alcohol ◽

Helmet Use ◽

Before And After ◽

Southern Taiwan ◽

Car Crashes ◽

Motorcycle Crashes

ObjectivesWe aimed to profile the epidemiological changes of driving under the influence (DUI) in southern Taiwan after the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit was lowered from 50 to 30 mg/dL in 2013.SettingLevel 1 trauma medical centre in southern Taiwan.ParticipantsData from 7447 patients (4375 males and 3072 females) were retrieved from the trauma registry system of a single trauma centre to examine patient characteristics (gender, age and BAC), clinical outcome variables (Abbreviated Injury Score, Injury Severity Score and mortality) and vehicular crash-related factors (vehicle type, airbag use in car crashes, helmet use in motorcycle crashes and time of crash) before and after the BAC limit change.ResultsOur results indicated that the percentage of DUI patients significantly declined from 10.99% (n=373) to 6.64% (n=269) after the BAC limit was lowered. Airbag use in car crashes (OR: 0.30, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.88, p=0.007) and helmet use in motorcycle crashes (OR: 0.20, 95% CI 0.15 to 0.26, p<0.001) was lower in DUI patients compared with non-DUI patients after the BAC limit change, with significant negative correlation. DUI behaviour increased crash mortality risk before the BAC limit change (OR: 4.33, 95% CI 2.20 to 8.54), and even more so after (OR: 5.60, 95% CI 3.16 to 9.93). The difference in ORs for mortality before and after the change in the BAC legal limit was not significant (p=0.568).ConclusionThis study revealed that lowering the BAC limit to 30 mg/dL significantly reduced the number of DUI events, but failed to result in a significant reduction in mortality in these trauma patients.

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Relative risk of injury due to alcohol consumption in car and motorcycle drivers

Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal ◽

10.26719/emhj.20.057 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 26 (12) ◽

pp. 1525-1531

Author(s):

Mahnaz Yadollahi ◽

Forough Pazhuheian

Keyword(s):

Relative Risk ◽

Alcohol Consumption ◽

Injury Severity ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Blood Alcohol Concentration ◽

Alcohol Concentration ◽

Trauma Patients ◽

Blood Alcohol ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Risk Of Injury

Background: There is strong evidence that a substantial number of fatal as well as nonfatal injuries in road traffic accidents result from alcohol consumption and abuse. Aims: To examine the relationship between blood alcohol concentration and characteristics of injury in trauma patients admitted to a major teaching hospital. Methods: This was a cross-sectional investigation of trauma characteristics among 38 435 car and motorcycle drivers referred to the South of Iran Trauma Center between October and March 2018. A log-binomial regression model was used to evaluate the relative risk of each covariate on the Injury Severity Score. Results: There were 253 patients (7.78%) with alcohol consumption. Also, blood alcohol level was positive in 8.66% and 6.93% of car and motorcycle drivers, respectively. The ISS in alcohol consumers and nonconsumers was 6.34 (standard deviation; 8.73) and 4.12 (7.78), respectively, which was significantly higher in the alcohol consumers (t test = 12.96, P < 0.001). Therefore, alcohol consumption was a significant factor in increasing the relative risk of injury, which was 2.83 units more than among drivers who had not consumed alcohol. Conclusions: Our findings show that the police and law enforcement agencies have a responsibility to enforce stricter rules to reduce drink driving and the burden of trauma on the healthcare system.

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