title: Alcohol-related emergency department injury presentations in Queensland adolescents and young adults over a 13-year period.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The rate of alcohol-related emergency department (ED) presentations in young people has increased dramatically in recent decades. Injuries are the most common type of youth alcohol-related ED presentation, yet little is known about these injuries in young people. This paper describes the characteristics of alcohol-related ED injury presentations in young people over a 13-year period and determines if they differ by gender and/or age group (adolescents: 12-17 years; young adults: 18-24 years).
  
  
  METHODS
  The Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit (QISU) database collects injury surveillance data at triage in participating EDs throughout Queensland, Australia. A total of 4667 cases of alcohol-related injuries in young people (aged 12-24 years) were identified in the QISU database between January 1999 and December 2011, using an injury surveillance code and nursing triage text-based search strategy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, young people accounted for 38% of all QISU alcohol-related ED injury presentations in patients aged 12 years or over. The majority of young adults presented with injuries due to violence and falls, whereas adolescents presented due to self-harm or intoxication without other injury. Males presented with injuries due to violence, whereas females presented with alcohol-related self-harm and intoxication.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a need for more effective ways of identifying the degree of alcohol involvement in injuries among young people presenting to EDs.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Youth Substance Abuse Research, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Leanne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hides
authors.forename: Jesani
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Limbong
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vallmuur
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barker
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Daglish
authors.forename: Ross McD
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Young
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy* / Q000639:trends*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000639:trends*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011793:Queensland / Q000453:epidemiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: alcohol; alcohol-related injury; emergency department; injury; injury surveillance