Relationship Between Severity of Trauma and Blood Alcohol Concentration in Road Traffic Accident Cases Admitted to the Emergency Department of Bursa, Turkiye
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Abstract
Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine if blood alcohol content and trauma severity were related to patients who had been in road traffic accident.
Methods: This study examined the medical records of patients that were admitted to the Department of Emergency Medicine of Yuksek Ihtisas Training and Research Hospital, Bursa city of Turkiye, as a result of road traffic accidents between 01/01/2022 and 01/08/2023.
Results: Out of the 5279 car occupants, 121 used alcohol (2.2%), and 111 (91%) of them were males. The most common type of trauma in the cases was head trauma (n = 76, 62.8%), while 26 cases (21.5%) required major surgery. The mean blood ethanol level of the cases was 137,39 ± 95,03 mg/dl, the median Injury Severity Score (ISS) score was 3 (IQR, 25-75: 2-9), and the median Revised Trauma Score (RTS) score was 9 (IQR, 25-75: 4-4). A statistically significant difference was determined between the blood alcohol concentration of the cases and head trauma and upper extremity injuries [(p<0.05), (p=0.002)]. We note a correlation between blood alcohol concentration and age [(p<0.001, r = 0.416)].
Conclusion: Our study revealed that high blood alcohol concentrations in road traffic accident cases are associated with high morbidity and mortality.
Keywords
Forensic science, blood alcohol concentration, emergency medicine, road traffic accident, trauma severity
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References
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