Characteristics of alcohol-related trauma: a retrospective analysis of 1997 cases

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Objective To analyze and summarize the epidemiological characteristics of patients with alcohol-related trauma through a large dataset. Methods The medical records of 46338 patients with pre-hospital trauma in 2019 were exported from Suzhou pre-hospital first aid information system. The medical history was matched by regular expression, and the trauma cases including "drinking", "drunk driving" and "alcoholism" were defined as alcohol-related trauma (ART). Statistical analysis was performed from the respects of age distribution, sex composition, injury mechanism, onset time and injury condition. Results 1997 patients with alcohol-related trauma were screened, including 1791 males, accounting for 89.68%. The age in the male group was older than that in the female group [median (IQR)]: 39 (16) <jats:italic>vs.</jats:italic> 31 (15), p &lt; 0.001. The top three injury mechanisms were fall down (32%), violence (28.49%) and traffic accidents (24.89%). In terms of time distribution, alcohol-related injuries mostly occurred at from 20:00 to 00:00 and Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The shock risk of violent was significantly higher than that of other types of trauma. Taking traffic accidents as a reference baseline, we calculated the crude OR and the adjusted OR with the adjustment for sex and age, which were 2.57, 95%(1.54–4.30), p &lt; 0.001; 2.39, 95%CI(1.42–4.01), p = 0.001, repspectively. Conclusion ART mainly occurs in male population and the average age of male is higher than that of female, and it is more common in falls, violence and traffic accidents, especially from 20:00 to 00:00 at night and on weekends. Violence can more easily lead to shock than other types of trauma, which suggests more serious injury and worse outcome.</jats:p>