Perceptions and realities of testing for alcohol and other drugs in trauma patients

The Journal of Trauma
Dan B RootmanNajma Ahmed

Abstract

Routine testing for acute intoxication with alcohol and other drugs in trauma patients is a widely accepted practice at major trauma centers. However, there is often a significant difference between policy and practice. We sought to study the perception and the reality of testing practices at an urban Level I trauma center. A survey was distributed to all emergency nursing staff and trauma team leaders (TTL). For the empiric aspects of this study, data were obtained from an institutional trauma database. Descriptive statistics and bivariate odds ratios were used to characterize survey responses and empiric data, respectively. Eighty-nine percent of nurses and 80% of TTLs estimated testing rates for alcohol to be over 80% for all trauma patients. This was compared with the empirically determined rate of 65%. Over 90% of nurses and 70% of TTLs claimed to test all patients. Those more likely to be tested were younger, male, unemployed, or laborers with penetrating injuries, more commonly in the overnight period. Clinicians tended to rely on clinical suspicion of intoxication as a criterion to test. They also tended to be unaware of an association between low socioeconomic status and increased rates of testing in their practices. O...Continue Reading

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Citations

Jun 11, 2009·The Journal of Trauma·Jamie R ShandroEllen J MacKenzie
Jun 15, 2011·CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association Journal = Journal De L'Association Medicale Canadienne·Steve KiselyElizabeth Lin
Aug 7, 2014·American Journal of Surgery·Norman G NicolsonMarie L Crandall
Feb 6, 2013·The American Journal of Emergency Medicine·Terry KowalenkoCharlene B Irvin-Babcock
Dec 11, 2014·Pediatric Pulmonology·Sarah BraunMatthias Griese
Oct 28, 2016·European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases : Official Publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology·V Agrawal, J D Amos
Sep 3, 2021·Health Information Management : Journal of the Health Information Management Association of Australia·Georgina LauBen Beck

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