Damsere-Derry James, Palk Gavan, King Mark
a Queensland University of Technology (QUT) , Centre for Accident Research & Road Safety-Queensland (CARRS-Q) , Brisbane , Australia.
b CSIR-Building & Road Research Institute , Kumasi , Ghana.
Traffic Inj Prev. 2018 Feb 17;19(2):118-124. doi: 10.1080/15389588.2017.1369533. Epub 2017 Oct 31.
Alcohol use is pervasive among motorists on the road in Ghana; however, we do not know the extent to which this behavior is implicated in road accidents in this country.
The main objective of this research was to establish the prevalence of alcohol in the blood of nonfatally injured casualties in the emergency departments (EDs) in northern Ghana.
Participants were injured road traffic crash victims, namely, pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and drivers seeking treatment at an ED. The study sites were 2 level III trauma centers located in Wa and Bolgatanga. Participants were screened for alcohol followed by breath tests for positive participants using breathalyzers.
Two hundred and sixty-two accident victims visited EDs, 58% of whom were in Wa. Among the victims, 41% were hospitalized and 57% experienced slight injuries. The vast majority (76%) of the casualties were motorcyclists, 13% were pedestrians, 8% were cyclists, and 2% were drivers. Casualties who had detectable alcohol in their blood were predominantly vulnerable road users. In all, 34% of participants had detectable blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) and the mean BAC for all casualties who tested positive and could give definitive BACs was 0.2265 (226 mg/dl). The prevalence of alcohol use was 53% among cyclists, 34% among motorcyclists, 21% among pedestrians, and 17% among drivers. Male casualties were more likely to test positive for alcohol than females. In addition, the prevalence of alcohol was significantly higher among injured casualties in Bolgatanga compared to Wa.
There was a high prevalence of alcohol use among nonfatally injured casualties in northern Ghana and injury severity increased with BAC. AUDIT screening in the hospital, alcohol consumption guideline, road safety education with an emphasis on minimizing or eliminating alcohol consumption, and enhanced enforcement of the BAC limit among motorists are recommended.
在加纳，驾车者饮酒现象十分普遍；然而，我们并不清楚这种行为在该国道路交通事故中所占的比例。
本研究的主要目的是确定加纳北部急诊科（ED）非致命伤患者血液中的酒精含量。
参与者为道路交通事故受伤者，即行人、骑自行车的人、骑摩托车的人和在急诊科寻求治疗的司机。研究地点为位于瓦和博尔加坦加的两家三级创伤中心。对参与者进行酒精筛查，对检测呈阳性的参与者使用呼气酒精含量探测器进行呼气测试。
262名事故受害者前往急诊科就诊，其中58%在瓦。在受害者中，41%住院治疗，57%受轻伤。绝大多数（76%）伤亡人员为骑摩托车的人，13%为行人，8%为骑自行车的人，2%为司机。血液中可检测到酒精的伤亡人员主要是易受伤害的道路使用者。总体而言，34%的参与者血液酒精浓度（BAC）可检测到，所有检测呈阳性且能给出确切BAC的伤亡人员的平均BAC为0.2265（226mg/dl）。骑自行车的人中酒精使用率为53%，骑摩托车的人为34%，行人为21%，司机为17%。男性伤亡人员酒精检测呈阳性的可能性高于女性。此外，与瓦相比，博尔加坦加受伤人员中的酒精使用率明显更高。
加纳北部非致命伤患者中酒精使用率很高，伤害严重程度随BAC升高而增加。建议在医院进行酒精使用障碍识别测试（AUDIT）筛查、制定酒精消费指南、开展道路安全教育，重点是尽量减少或消除酒精消费，并加强对驾车者BAC限制的执法力度。
