CRASH CHARACTERISTICS AND INJURIES OF VICTIMS IMPAIRED BY ALCOHOL VERSUS ILLICIT DRUGS

Alcohol has long been associated with injury, but the relationship bet ween other drugs and injury is less clear. Blood samples from 894 pati ents presenting to two Emergency Departments for treatment of motor ve hicle injury sustained in passenger cars, station wagons, vans and pic kup trucks, were tested for alcohol and other drugs. Results were rela ted to demographic characteristics, including prior history of alcohol and drug use; crash characteristics; and injury characteristics. Alco hol was associated with more severe crashes, but other drugs, in the a bsence of alcohol, were not. The crashes involving drugs but no alcoho l were very similar to those involving neither alcohol nor drugs. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.