Alcohol-related acute presentations to the emergency department

Abstract

Introduction: Alcohol consumption in excess leads to various consequences, either short term or long term. Acute alcohol impairment is a very important analysis topic for traffic safety, and a wide range of studies have indicated that alcohol is one of the root causes of driving impairment across the world. Methodology: The study was conducted at the emergency department (ED) of Christian Medical College, Vellore, from December 2014 to March 2015. After obtaining informed written consent, all patients above the age of 18 were included and data were analyzed. Results: During the study period, 153 patients presented with alcohol-related emergencies. Among them, 45.75% belonged to the age group of 21–30 years. The most common time of presentation to ED was in the evening from 15:30 to 22:30 (59%). Seventy-six percent of the patients presented with road traffic accidents (RTAs), of which 89.6% were two-wheeler-related RTAs. Among the two-wheeler RTAs, 98.2% did not wear a helmet. Nine percent of the total emergencies were related to acute poisoning incidents. Conclusions: Alcohol-related acute presentations to the ED are common but preventable emergencies, with RTAs and acute poisonings comprising the majority.