Alcohol-related trauma presentations among older teenagers

The objectives of the present study were to report the proportion of older teenagers, including the subgroup operating a motor vehicle, presenting to an adult major trauma centre after injury with a positive blood alcohol concentration (BAC) over a 12-year period.

This was a registry-based cohort study, including all patients aged 16-19 years presenting to an adult major trauma centre in Victoria, Australia from January 2008 to December 2019 and included in the trauma registry. A Poisson regression model was used to test for change in incidence of positive BAC associated trauma and summarised using incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

There were 1658 patients included for analysis and alcohol was detected in 368 (22.2%; 95% CI 20.2-24.3). Most alcohol positive presentations were on weekend days (n = 207; 56.3%) and most were males (n = 307). Over the 12-year period, there was a reduction in the incidence of older teenagers presenting with a positive BAC (IRR 0.95; 95% CI 0.93-0.98; P = 0.001). Among patients presenting after trauma in the setting of operating a motor vehicle (n = 545), alcohol was detected in 80 (14.7%) with no significant change in incidence of positive BAC (IRR 0.95; 95% CI 0.89-1.02; P = 0.17).

A substantial proportion of older teenagers included in the registry had alcohol exposure prior to trauma. Despite a modest down-trending incidence, the need for continuing preventive measures is emphasised. In particular, preventive efforts should be targeted at male, older teenagers undertaking drinking activities on weekend days and driving motor vehicles.