OBJECTIVES: To determine the incidence of alcohol use in subcritically injured patients presenting to the ED, by using a saliva alcohol test (SAT) at ED triage during the ED initial assessment; to compare the incidence of alcohol use revealed by the SAT with documentation of alcohol use by ED nurses and emergency physicians (EPs) blinded to the SAT results; and to describe the demographics of the SAT-positive, subcritically injured population. METHODS: A blinded, prospective, observational evaluation of ED patients presenting with subcritical injuries was performed. The patients were tested for alcohol use with an SAT, and a subsequent record review was conducted for extraction of demographic data and evidence of documentation of alcohol use by ED nurses and EPs blinded to the SAT results. RESULTS: During the study, 791 subcritically injured patients had SATs performed. Twenty-one percent of these patients were found to be alcohol-positive by SAT. Either the ED nurse or the EP documented a clinical impression of alcohol use for 52% of the SAT-positive patients. There were higher SAT-positive rates among men (24%), victims of assault (47%), and patients arriving at night (41%). CONCLUSIONS: While the SAT identified 21% of the subcritically injured patient population as alcohol-positive, ED nurse and EP documentation did not identify half of these alcohol-positive patients. Many of these patients may be at risk for additional injuries related to their drinking behavior.
OBJECTIVES: To determine the incidence of alcohol use in subcritically injured patients presenting to the ED, by using a saliva alcohol test (SAT) at ED triage during the ED initial assessment; to compare the incidence of alcohol use revealed by the SAT with documentation of alcohol use by ED nurses and emergency physicians (EPs) blinded to the SAT results; and to describe the demographics of the SAT-positive, subcritically injured population. METHODS: A blinded, prospective, observational evaluation of ED patients presenting with subcritical injuries was performed. The patients were tested for alcohol use with an SAT, and a subsequent record review was conducted for extraction of demographic data and evidence of documentation of alcohol use by ED nurses and EPs blinded to the SAT results. RESULTS: During the study, 791 subcritically injured patients had SATs performed. Twenty-one percent of these patients were found to be alcohol-positive by SAT. Either the ED nurse or the EP documented a clinical impression of alcohol use for 52% of the SAT-positive patients. There were higher SAT-positive rates among men (24%), victims of assault (47%), and patients arriving at night (41%). CONCLUSIONS: While the SAT identified 21% of the subcritically injured patient population as alcohol-positive, ED nurse and EP documentation did not identify half of these alcohol-positive patients. Many of these patients may be at risk for additional injuries related to their drinking behavior.
Authors: Michael J Mello; Ted D Nirenberg; Richard Longabaugh; Robert Woolard; Alison Minugh; Bruce Becker; Janette Baird; Lynda Stein Journal: Ann Emerg Med Date: 2005-06 Impact factor: 5.721
Authors: Janette Baird; Richard Longabaugh; Christina S Lee; Ted D Nirenberg; Robert Woolard; Michael J Mello; Bruce Becker; Kathleen Carty; P Allison Minugh; Lynda Stein; Patrick R Clifford; Aruna Gogineni Journal: Alcohol Clin Exp Res Date: 2007-10 Impact factor: 3.455
Authors: Thomas H Chun; Anthony Spirito; Lynn Hernández; Anne M Fairlie; Holly Sindelar-Manning; Cheryl A Eaton; William J Lewander Journal: Acad Emerg Med Date: 2010-01 Impact factor: 3.451