Traumatic brain injury in patients screened for blood alcohol concentration based on the mechanism of injury

Introduction: We aimed to investigate in-hospital outcomes of traumatic brain injury (TBI) based on blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and mechanism of injury (MOI). Methods: We conducted a retrospective study for patients admitted with TBI between 2010 and 2014. Based on BAC, patients were classified into [negative (-BAC) and positive (+BAC) group]. Data were analyzed and compared according to the MOI. Results: Out of 8141 trauma patients, 946 (11.6%) were diagnosed with TBI and 681 (72%) were subjected to BAC screening. One out of seven TBI was related to alcohol consumption with a mean age of 32 years. Gender, age, and Injury Severity Scores (ISS) were comparable in the two groups. However, the proportion of patients with polytrauma was significantly higher in -BAC than +BAC group regardless of the MOI except for the fall-related TBI. The median BAC was higher in fall-related followed by pedestrians and MVC victims [55 mmol/L (10–101), 49(9–71), and 31(1–69), respectively], p = 0.001. Overall hospital mortality was comparable between the two groups except for the pedestrian-related TBIs in which (+BAC) had significantly fewer mortality. Conclusions: Screening for BAC among patients with TBI increases substantially regardless of the MOI. The high BAC value in Fall-related TBI needs more attention to set appropriate preventive measures.