SCREENING FOR ALCOHOL AND DRUGS OF ABUSE IN TRAUMA VICTIMS
Banuçiçek YÜCESAN*, Şebnem Ş. ÇEÇEN**, Yücel DENER***, Rüçhan ÖZTÜRK***, Yaşar BİLGE****,
Tülin SÖYLEMEZOĞLU**^o
* Refik Saydam Hygiene Center, Blood and Blood Products Quality Control Laboratory, 06100 Sýhhiye, Ankara - TURKEY.
** Ankara University, Institute of Forensic Medicine, 06260, Dikimevi, Ankara-TURKEY.
*** The Rebuplic of Turkey, Ministry of Justice, Council of Forencis Medicine, Chemistry Department, Ankara - TURKEY.
**** Ankara University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Forensic Medicine, Dikimevi, Ankara- TURKEY.
^oCorresponding Author

Summary
The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between alcohol/drug abuse and injury severity caused by trauma.
Toward this aim, routinely collected urine and blood specimens from 102 trauma patients were analyzed for the presence of drugs of abuse by an enzyme immunoassay method, CEDIA ® DAU, and for alcohol by headspace gas chromatography. To predict recovery, to assess the patient’s condition and to determine the possible correlation between alcohol/drug abuse and injury severity, trauma score (TS), Glasgow coma scale (GCS) and % probability of survival were calculated. Our results de-monstrated that male patients were more likely to use drugs and consume alcohol than female patients (p= 0.001). Trauma victims with severe and fatal injuries having low TS and GCS with low probability of survival were more likely to have positive screens (p=0.000) and higher blood alcohol levels (p=0.000) than those with less severe injuries. However, no significant relationship was found between alcohol/drug abuse and trauma reasons (p=0.061) or between trauma reasons/sex (p=0.078)

Key Words :
Alcohol and abused drugs, trauma score, Glasgow coma scale, CEDIA ® DAU, headspace gas chromatography