title: Frequency of Alcohol Use Among Injured Adult Patients Presenting to a Ghanaian Emergency Department.
abstract: Injuries are the cause of almost 6 million deaths annually worldwide, with 15% to 20% alcohol associated. The frequency of alcohol-associated injury varies among countries and is unknown in Ghana. We determined the frequency of positive alcohol test results among injured adults in a Ghanaian emergency department (ED).
  
  
  
  This is a cross-sectional chart review of consecutive injured patients aged 18 years or older presenting to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital ED for care within 8 hours of injury. Patients were tested for presence of alcohol with a breathalyzer or a saliva alcohol test. Patients were excluded if they had minor injuries resulting in referral to a separate outpatient clinic, or death before admission. Alcohol test results, subject, and injury characteristics were collected. Proportions with 95% confidence intervals were calculated.
  
  
  
  Injured adult patients (2,488) presented to the ED from November 2014 to April 2015, with 1,085 subjects (43%) included in this study. Three hundred eighty-two subjects (35%; 95% confidence interval 32% to 38%) tested alcohol positive. Forty-two percent of men (320/756), 40% of subjects aged 25 to 44 years (253/626), 42% of drivers (66/156), 42% of pedestrians (85/204), 49% of assault victims (82/166), 40% of those seriously injured (124/311), and 53% of subjects who died in the ED (8/15) had positive results for presence of alcohol.
  
  
  
  The frequency of alcohol-associated injury was 35% among tested subjects in this Ghanaian tertiary care hospital ED. These findings have implications for health policy-, ED- and legislative-based interventions, and acute care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
authors.forename: Paa Kobina
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Forson
authors.affiliation: Medical School, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. Electronic address: aellisgardner@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Oduro
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bonney
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
authors.forename: Eno Akua
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Biney
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Oppong
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
authors.forename: Eszter
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Momade
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
authors.forename: Ronald F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Maio
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005869:Ghana / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D055815:Young Adult