According to recent study of University of Illinois
at Chicago School of Public Health – Injured patients were less likely to die
in the hospital if they had alcohol in their blood and the more alcohol; the
more likely they were to survive.
Dr. Lee Friedman epidemiologist who was the project head said
“However, after an injury, if you are intoxicated there seems to be a pretty substantial
protective effect,” “The more alcohol you have in your system, the more the
protective effect.” Dr. Lee Friedman is Assistant Professor of Environmental and
Occupational Health Sciences at UIC in Chicago.
The project team headed by learned professor analyzed Illinois
Trauma Registry data for 190,612 patients treated at trauma centers between
1995 and 2009 who were tested for blood alcohol content, which ranged from zero
to 0.5 percent at the time they were admitted to the trauma unit. It is
surprising that only 6,733 died in the hospital.
The study examined the relationship of alcohol dosage to
in-hospital mortality following traumatic injuries such as fractures, internal
injuries and open wounds. Alcohol benefited patients across the range of
injuries, with burns as the only exception.
The benefit extended from the lowest blood alcohol
concentration (below 0.1 percent) through the highest levels (up to 0.5
percent).
“At the higher levels of blood alcohol concentration, there
was a reduction of almost 50 percent in hospital mortality rates,” Friedman
said. “This protective benefit persists even after taking into account injury
severity and other factors known to be strongly associated with mortality
following an injury.”
The findings of this study point:
- It’s important
for clinicians to recognize intoxicated patients but also to understand
how alcohol might affect the course of treatment.
- This
study is not encouraging people to drink, the good thing which we find in
this study is that interesting projects are undertaken in USA.
I wonder whether any such study has
been undertaken in India.
The implication of such study as
for insurance industry in India is
concerned is that if a person was intoxicated and is involved in accident his hospitalization
claim, claim far car damage everything may be denied.
