Investigating a Substance Abuse Screening in a Trauma Setting

Area of Science:

• Trauma care
• Substance abuse screening
• Digital health interventions

Background:

• Drug and alcohol consumption are frequently linked to trauma-related injuries.
• Screening and brief intervention (SBI) tools are effective for alcohol use but less common for drug use.
• Computerized versions of SBI tools for drug use are underreported.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a computerized SBI tool for drug use in a trauma setting.
• To test the hypothesis that a computerized SBI tool can identify patients at risk of substance abuse.
• To assess the effectiveness of a digital survey in a trauma patient population.

Main Methods:

• Prospective evaluation of a computerized alcohol and drug screening and brief intervention survey.
• Survey administered to eligible trauma patients at a Level 1 trauma facility.
• Substance involvement (SI) score generated to classify drug abuse risk (none, low, moderate, high).

Main Results:

• 1801 patients completed the survey; 19.3% reported illicit drug use.
• Males and younger patients (≤25 years) showed higher rates of drug use and risk.
• Toxicology reports indicated a higher positive rate (48.51%) than self-reported drug use.

Conclusions:

• The electronic survey effectively identifies patients at risk of drug abuse for real-time intervention.
• The tool can specify at-risk patient groups, enabling targeted interventions.
• Further studies are needed to enhance screening methods and intervention strategies.