Ethanol Abuse and the Trauma Patient

Abstract

Alcohol has a profound impact on the epidemiology of injury, but the physiology and biochemical effects in an individual patient may be difficult to predict. Identification of intoxicated persons is essential, despite economic disincentives to do so, because even brief targeted intervention programs can decrease substantially the patient's risk of subsequent injury.

Alcohol ingestion before burn injury decreases splanchnic blood flow and oxygen delivery

“…Previous studies have suggested that the severity of injury is increased in patients who have consumed alcohol before injury compared with those who have not (for reviews, see Refs. 6,21,and 25). These studies have shown that intoxicated patients require frequent intubations, experience delayed wound healing, and unnecessary longer hospital stays (6,7,11,18,21,(23)(24)(25).…”

“…Although a hypoxic insult to the liver would result in a release of proinflammatory mediators, a similar insult to the intestine will likely perturb both intestinal immune cell and barrier functions, as observed in our previous study. hemodynamic; liver; intestine; shock; trauma; ethanol; cardiovascular response; thermal injury NEARLY 50% of burn and a similar percentage of trauma patients are found positive for alcohol at the time of hospital admission (6,21,25). Previous studies have suggested that the severity of injury is increased in patients who have consumed alcohol before injury compared with those who have not (for reviews, see Refs.…”

“…NEARLY 50% of burn and a similar percentage of trauma patients are found positive for alcohol at the time of hospital admission (6,21,25). Previous studies have suggested that the severity of injury is increased in patients who have consumed alcohol before injury compared with those who have not (for reviews, see Refs.…”

“…6, 21, and 25). These studies have shown that intoxicated patients require frequent intubations, experience delayed wound healing, and unnecessary longer hospital stays (6,7,11,18,21,(23)(24)(25). As a consequence, enormous resources are consumed to treat trauma patients who are positive for blood alcohol compared with those who sustained injuries in the absence of alcohol.…”

“…As a consequence, enormous resources are consumed to treat trauma patients who are positive for blood alcohol compared with those who sustained injuries in the absence of alcohol. Furthermore, intoxicated patients are more susceptible to infection and are more likely to die than injured patients who are not intoxicated at the time of injury (6,18,21,(23)(24)(25). In contrast, some studies suggest that alcohol does not influence the severity of injury (7,11), whereas others have suggested that alcohol is protective (for a review, see Ref.…”