ALCOHOL AND MINOR TRAUMA

A prospective study of breath alcohol levels among mildly injured adul t patients was conducted over a 7-month period in the emergency depart ment of a 15-bed hospital on a U.S. Air Force base in rural upstate Ne w York. Severely injured patients were systematically excluded from th e analysis. Three hundred twenty-seven patients were invited to partic ipate, Two hundred sixty-seven submitted both a demographic questionna ire and a breath alcohol test (BAT). Forty-six submitted just a questi onnaire, Fourteen declined to participate, Eight patients had positive BATs, representing 2.4% of the study population, or 3% of those who s ubmitted a BAT. Thus, the prevalence of alcohol intoxication among pat ients presenting to a small military hospital with minor injuries is m uch lower than that among patients with major trauma, Minor injury may not be the marker for alcoholism that major trauma is thought to be.