title: Alcohol ingestion is independently associated with complications after work place injuries: a national trauma data bank analysis of injury severity and outcomes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Work place injuries have socioeconomic and workforce health implications. Results of clinical studies on the effect of alcohol (ETOH) ingestion on short-term outcomes in trauma are varied. We performed this study to estimate the prevalence of ETOH-related injury in the workplace and its relevance to outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using the National Trauma Data Bank v. 7.0, incident codes identified as being work related were extracted. The study group comprised those work-related injury cases wherein an ETOH result was documented. The ETOH (+) group was compared with the ETOH (-) group with respect to injury mechanism, injury severity, complications, and mortality. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine independent associations with these outcomes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 31,028 cases who met inclusion criteria. Overall mortality was 2.9% (909, odds ratio [95% confidence interval], p-value) while complication rate was 2.9% (911). The incidence of a ETOH (+) screen was 10.8% (3356). Mortality in the ETOH (+) group was 3.5% (117) versus 2.9% (792) in the ETOH (-) group. This was not significantly different on logistic regression (0.88 [0.69-1.12], 0.30). The overall complication rate in the ETOH (+) group was 5.9% (197) versus 2.6% (714) in the ETOH (-) group (2.27 [1.95-2.65], <0.01). In particular, infectious complications (on post hoc analysis) were significantly increased in the ETOH (+) group (3.7% [125] vs. 1.4% [381]; 2.71 [2.22-3.30], <0.01). On logistic regression analysis, an ETOH (+) screen was not independently associated with death; however, a (+) screen was independently associated with complications.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The incidence of ETOH-associated workplace injury is potentially significant. Despite variable effects of ETOH ingestion on trauma outcomes, the presence of a ETOH (+) screen is independently associated with complications after occupational injury.
authors.affiliation: Division of Trauma/Surgical Critical Care, University of Southern California+Los Angeles County Medical Center, Los Angeles, California 90033, USA. plurad@usc.edu
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Plurad
authors.forename: Peep
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Talving
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Donald
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: Lydia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Inaba
authors.forename: Demetrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Demetriades
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D060051:Occupational Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality; D016017:Odds Ratio; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult