Citation

Flint RD. J. Emerg. Med. 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jemermed.2023.03.067

PMID

37291010

Abstract

I would like to highlight the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study entitled "Alcohol and Drug Prevalence Among Seriously or Fatally Injured Road Users" released in December 2022 ( 1). This research encompassed 7279 patients involved in motor vehicle crashes, pedestrians struck, or bicycle crashes evaluated at seven U.S. Level I trauma centers and four associated medical examiner offices. These patients were either severely injured, died, or were pronounced dead at the scene. Toxicology reports were reviewed for these patients. Overall, 55% of all injured or killed roadway users tested positive for at least one drug, including alcohol. The prevalence of substances found on toxicology report is highlighted here:""The most prevalent drug category among all road users in the study sample was cannabinoids (active THC) with 25.1% positive, followed by alcohol at 23.1%, stimulants at 10.8%, and opioids at 9.3%. Overall, 19.9% of the road users tested positive for two or more categories of drugs. The ME cases tended to show higher positivity than the trauma center cases for each of the drug categories."

National Traffic Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA). Alcohol and drug prevalence among seriously or fatally injured road users; December 2022 DOT HS 813 399 Available at: https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/2022-12/Alcohol-Drug-Prevalence-Among-Road-Users-Report_112922-tag.pdf

Language: en