Frequency of Alcohol Use Among Injured Adult Patients Presenting to a Ghanaian Emergency Department

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• 作者：Paa Kobina Forson ; MPH^a ; Andrew Gardner ; BS^b ; ^{aellisgardner@gmail.com" class="auth_mail" title="E-mail the corresponding author} ; George Oduro ; FCEM^a ; Joseph Bonney ; MPH^a ; Eno Akua Biney ; MGCS^a ; Chris Oppong ; MGCS^a ; Eszter Momade ; MBChB^a ; Ronald F. Maio ; DO^c
• 刊名：Annals of Emergency Medicine
• 出版年：2016
• 出版时间：October 2016
• 年：2016
• 卷：68
• 期：4
• 页码：492-500.e6
• 全文大小：423 K

文摘

Injuries are the cause of almost 6 million deaths annually worldwide, with 15% to 20% alcohol associated. The frequency of alcohol-associated injury varies among countries and is unknown in Ghana. We determined the frequency of positive alcohol test results among injured adults in a Ghanaian emergency department (ED).

Methods

This is a cross-sectional chart review of consecutive injured patients aged 18 years or older presenting to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital ED for care within 8 hours of injury. Patients were tested for presence of alcohol with a breathalyzer or a saliva alcohol test. Patients were excluded if they had minor injuries resulting in referral to a separate outpatient clinic, or death before admission. Alcohol test results, subject, and injury characteristics were collected. Proportions with 95% confidence intervals were calculated.

Results

Injured adult patients (2,488) presented to the ED from November 2014 to April 2015, with 1,085 subjects (43%) included in this study. Three hundred eighty-two subjects (35%; 95% confidence interval 32% to 38%) tested alcohol positive. Forty-two percent of men (320/756), 40% of subjects aged 25 to 44 years (253/626), 42% of drivers (66/156), 42% of pedestrians (85/204), 49% of assault victims (82/166), 40% of those seriously injured (124/311), and 53% of subjects who died in the ED (8/15) had positive results for presence of alcohol.

Conclusion

The frequency of alcohol-associated injury was 35% among tested subjects in this Ghanaian tertiary care hospital ED. These findings have implications for health policy–, ED- and legislative-based interventions, and acute care.