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The relationship of blood alcohol concentration to impairment severity in spinal cord injury
Martin Forchheimer1, Rebecca M Cunningham, David R Gater
1University of Michigan, Model Spinal Cord Injury Care System, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0419, USA. forchm@umich.edu
Objective:
To investigate the relationship between blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and severity of neurological impairment.
Design:
Retrospective cross-sectional study.
Participants:
Subjects with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI; N = 119) with dates of injury between 1991 and 2000 who received their acute treatment at a midwestern Model SCI Care System and for whom information regarding BAC was available.
Main Outcome Measure:
severity of neurological impairment. Data were analyzed using chi2 tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA).
Results:
A significant association was observed between impairment severity and BAC.
Conclusions:
The study suggests that alcohol consumption is associated with severity of SCI. A more rigorous study controlling for trauma attributes is necessary to confirm these results and appraise whether alcohol has a potentiating effect on impairment. If borne out, the study's findings may lead to alterations in emergency room procedures and to changes in public health and education efforts resulting from a reframing of the issue of safe consumption of alcohol.
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