Emergency Intervention to Break the Cycle of Drunken Driving and Recurrent Injury☆☆☆★
Abstract
See related editorial, p.221, "Alcohol and Injury in the Emergency Department: Opportunities for Intervention."
Drinking increases motor vehicle crash likelihood starting at blood alcohol levels as low as .02 mmol/L. Clinical experience tells us that drunken drivers "cycle through" the system many times, presenting opportunities for intervention. We describe the drunken driver's risk of occurrence at each juncture in the cycle and emphasize the opportunity for intervention. Patients injured in motor vehicle crashes should be screened for alcohol abuse in the emergency department and referred for treatment if it appears warranted.
[Madden C, Cole TB: Emergency intervention to break the cycle of drunken driving and recurrent injury. Ann Emerg Med August 1995;26:177-179.]
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☆ From the Department of Emergency Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill*; and the Injury Control Section of the North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Raleigh, North Carolina.‡
☆☆ Address for reprints: Cynthia Madden, MD, Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, CB 7105, Old Clinic Building, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7105, 919-966-1274, Fax 919-966-2274
★ Reprint no. 47/1/66177
PII: S0196-0644(95)70148-6
© 1995 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.
