Effects of Alcohol Use Status on Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes in Patients With Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a condition with broad societal impact, high economic costs, and substantial public health burden. While alcohol use increases the risk of TBI, its influence on patient prognosis remains controversial at present. The objective of this study is to explore the association between alcohol use status at the time of injury and the clinical characteristics, as well as outcomes of TBI patients.

We conducted a retrospective study of 356 consecutive TBI patients admitted to the Affiliated Lianyungang Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from January 2021 to June 2024. Based on alcohol use status at injury, patients were categorized into a drinking group (n=83) and a nondrinking group (n=273). Multivariable logistic regression was performed to control for confounders and assess the independent impact of alcohol use status on clinical endpoints.

Compared with the nondrinking group, the drinking group differed significantly in baseline and injury-related clinical characteristics. In multivariable logistic regression, drinking was not independently associated with poor outcomes, ICU length of stay, total hospitalization cost, or postoperative pneumonia/ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome). However, drinking was associated with a shorter total hospital length of stay ( OR =0.440; 95% CI: 0.245-0.789; P =0.006), and the subgroup analyses yielded consistent results, supporting the robustness of these findings.

Alcohol use status alters the clinical characteristics of patients with TBI. However, it does not increase the overall risk of poor outcomes or medical burden and may shorten the total hospital length of stay.