Heavy drinking and accidents--a prospective study among men of working age.

The injuries of 438 consecutive men of working age (20-64 years) were investigated. These patients were admitted to the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology of the Helsinki University Central Hospital. The MAST interview was used as the criterion for heavy drinking. Of the whole series 27.4 per cent met the heavy drinking criterion and in 36.4 per cent alcohol intoxication (AI) was present on admission. AI was more common in heavy drinkers (62 per cent) compared with the controls (23 per cent) (chi 2 test, P less than 0.001). S-GGT was elevated in 34 per cent of the heavy drinkers. Elevated levels of S-GGT among heavy drinkers also correlated with postoperative complications. The hospital stay of the heavy drinkers compared with the controls was statistically significantly longer (10.7 days versus 7.3 days). Although the proportion of alcohol intoxication among heavy drinkers was high, of the heavy drinkers almost 40 per cent were sober on admission. Interviews, such as MAST are recommended for use routinely with injured patients to assess alcohol abuse 'through accidents'.