Investigating blood alcohol concentration among RTI victims admitted to hospitals in five hospitals in Vietnam

Abstract

Drink driving is a major issue in Vietnam, yet, the magnitude of the problem is not adequately reported by the Government. Official statistics in 2008 revealed 6–7% of road traffic accidents occurred due to drink driving. This study was conducted in five major trauma hospitals across Vietnam, namely: Yen Bai, Viet Duc, Da Nang, Binh Duong and HoChiMinh Orthopedics hospitals with an aim to understand better the magnitude of the problem. Ethics clearance was sought from Ministry of Health. Study subjects were road traffic patients admitted to hospital with age from 18 and upwards. Consent was obtained from each patient before conducting tests.ResultsFrom August to October 2009, a total of 3774 road traffic patients were given BAC tests in five hospitals. On average, 67.5% were positive with alcohol, ranging from 41% in Viet Duc to over 95% in Binh Duong. Among those positive, 58.5% of patients were over the limit of 50mg/dl. Over 95% are reported male drinkers. Majority of male drinkers rode home after consuming beer or alcohol, ranging from 64% in Da Nang to 96% in Ho Chi Minh city.Conclusions and Policy ImplicationsDrink driving is a major problem for road safety in Vietnam and is still largely under reported. It's recommended that sustained nation wide campaigns on risks of drink driving should be conducted, especially for motorcyclists. Strict enforcement is also crucial.