Detectable blood alcohol after a motor vehicle crash and screening for alcohol abuse/dependence

• Published in: Mayo Clinic proceedings Vol. 75; no. 3; p. 231
• Main Authors: Maxson, P M, Berge, K H, Hall-Flavin, D K, Zietlow, S P, Schroeder, D R, Lange, C M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01-03-2000
• Subjects: Accidents, Traffic; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Alcoholism - diagnosis; Ethanol - blood; Female; Humans; Male; Mass Screening; Middle Aged; United States; United States
• ISSN: 0025-6196
• DOI: 10.1016/S0025-6196(11)65025-8

To determine the percentage of patients hospitalized after an alcohol-related motor vehicle crash (MVC) who underwent a screening evaluation for alcohol abuse/dependence and had a diagnosis of alcohol abuse/dependence.
Medical and emergency trauma records were reviewed retrospectively for 1994 through 1996 to identify patients who were hospitalized as a result of being involved in an MVC with any detected blood alcohol at the time of admission to a large midwestern Level I trauma center. The primary outcome measure was the performance of alcohol abuse/dependence screening by a psychiatrist or a chemical dependency counselor. A univariate analysis was performed to identify factors associated with the performance of alcohol abuse/dependence screening. The Fisher exact test and the 2-sample rank sum test were used in the analyses.
Of the 294 study patients, 78 (26.5%) underwent a screening evaluation for alcohol abuse/dependence by a psychiatrist or a chemical dependency counselor during hospitalization, and 69 (88%) of the 78 patients screened had a diagnosis of alcohol abuse/dependence. Factors associated with the performance of alcohol abuse/dependence evaluation included a known prior history of alcohol abuse, suspicion of alcohol consumption documented by emergency department personnel, higher blood alcohol level at admission, and longer length of hospitalization (all P < .001).
While the high rate of alcohol abuse/dependence may be explained partially by distinguishing factors in those screened, these findings suggest that routine alcohol abuse/dependence screening of persons presenting with a detectable blood alcohol level following an MVC may identify patients who would benefit from a chemical dependency intervention.