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Alcohol and the emergency service patient
British Medical Journal
|September 6, 1980
Summary
Forty percent of emergency room patients consumed alcohol, with 32% exceeding legal limits. Objective breath-alcohol tests are valuable as clinical assessments miss 10% of intoxicated individuals.
Area of Science:
- Emergency Medicine
- Toxicology
- Public Health
Background:
- Alcohol consumption is a significant factor in emergency department (ED) visits.
- Assessing alcohol intoxication in casualty patients can be challenging using clinical methods alone.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of alcohol use among patients presenting to an accident and emergency department.
- To evaluate the accuracy of clinical intoxication assessments compared to objective breath-alcohol analysis.
Main Methods:
- Breath-alcohol analysis was conducted on 702 patients attending a large teaching hospital's ED during evening hours.
- Patient data on alcohol consumption and blood alcohol concentration (BAC) were collected.
Main Results:
- Alcohol consumption was prevalent, with 40% of patients having consumed alcohol prior to attendance.
- A significant proportion, 32%, had a blood alcohol concentration exceeding 17.4 mmol/l (80 mg/100 ml).
- Clinical assessment of intoxication yielded a 10% false-negative rate among inebriated patients.
Conclusions:
- Objective measurement of blood alcohol concentration via breath-alcohol analysis offers added diagnostic value in ED settings.
- A high percentage of emergency service patients are impacted by alcohol, necessitating integration with alcoholism treatment services.