Alcohol and/or drug abuse favors trauma recurrence and reduces the trauma-free period.

AIM: A study is made of the influence of alcohol and/or drug abuse upon traumatismo recurrence, with an analysis of the influence of such abuse upon the time to appearance of first injury in patients without antecedents of trauma.

DESIGN

A prospective observational study was made.

SETTING

Trauma patients admitted to the Intensive care Unit (ICU) of a University Hospital.

PATIENTS: Trauma patients admitted to the ICU.

INTERVENTION: None.

MAIN MEASUREMENTS: Trauma recurrence was defined by a history of previous trauma requiring medical care. The presence of alcohol and other drugs of abuse were determined upon admission after severe trauma.

RESULTS

Out of the 166 trauma patients admitted to the ICU during the study period, 102 (87 males) were included in the study. Some substance was detected in 51 patients (50%), most frequently in the males (48/87, p<0.02). The most frequently detected substance was alcohol (39%), followed by cannabis (12%) and cocaine (7%), while more than one substance was found in 10 patients (9.8%). Of the 102 patients, 42 were recurrent trauma cases, and 32 (76%) of them were substance-positive, while only 10 were substance-negative (p<0.001). Of the 60 patients without antecedents of trauma, 19 (32%) were substance-positive, and these were significantly younger (34.3±9 years) than the 41 subjects who were substance-negative (48±23 years) (p<0.001).

CONCLUSION

Alcohol and/or drug abuse increases the likelihood of recurrent trauma and may shorten the mean trauma-free period among patients without a history of trauma by almost 15 years.