Emergency department visits for alcohol-related unintentional traumatic injuries, United States, 2001

摘要

In the United States, excessive alcohol consumption is responsible for more than $180 billion in economic costs per year and is the thin leading preventable cause of death (Harwood, 2000; Mokdad, Marks, Stroup, & Gerberding, 2005). The single greatest contributor to alcohol related mortality in the United States is unintentional injury, accounting for approximately 26,000 deaths per year (CDC, 2004) and placing , substantial burden on emergency departments (EDs). In this study we analyzed 2001 data from a nationally representative sample of hospital ED: to examine characteristics of ED visits for alcohol-related unintentional traumatic injuries and compared them with visits for unintentiona traumatic injuries for which alcohol use was not noted in the ED medical chart.