ArticleBMC emergency medicine2019
The prevalence of alcohol and illicit drug use among injured patients presenting to the emergency department of a national hospital in Tanzania: a prospective cohort study.
Article in BMC emergency medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
- Using the ADAPT guidance to culturally adapt a brief intervention to reduce alcohol use among injury patients in Tanzania.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Identifying excessive chronic alcohol use with phosphatidylethanol in patients with suspected severe injury-results from the IDART study.Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire) · 2024Article
- Fall injuries in Sub-Saharan Africa: analysis of prospective injury registry from 23 health facilities in Malawi and Tanzania.BMC emergency medicine · 2023Article
- A mixed-methods comparison of gender differences in alcohol consumption and drinking characteristics among patients in Moshi, Tanzania.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
- Prevalence and correlates of depression and substance use disorders in emergency department populations: A cross-sectional study at East Africa's largest public hospital.African journal of emergency medicine : Revue africaine de la medecine d'urgence · 2022Article
- Drug and alcohol use in Tanzanian road traffic collision drivers.African journal of emergency medicine : Revue africaine de la medecine d'urgence · 2021Article
- Perceptions of alcohol use among injury patients and their family members in Tanzanian society.Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.) · 2020Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAlcohol and illicit drugs have been found to be major contributing factors leading to severe injuries in a variety of settings. In Tanzania, the use of these substances among injured patients has not been studied. We investigated the prevalence of positive tests for alcohol and illicit drug use among injured patients presenting to the emergency medicine department (ED) of Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH).
methodsThis was a prospective cohort study of a consecutive sample of patients > 18 years of age presenting to the ED-MNH with injury related complaints in October and November 2015. A structured data sheet was used to record demographic information, mechanism of injury, clinical presentation, alcohol and illicit drug test results, and ED disposition. Alcohol levels and illicit drug use were tested by breathalyser device or swab stick alcohol test and multidrug urine panel, respectively. Patients were followed up for 24 h and 30 days using medical chart reviews and phone calls. Descriptive statistics and relative risk were used to describe the results.
resultsWe screened 1011 patients and we enrolled all 143 (14.1%) patients who met inclusion criteria. 123 (86.0%) were male, the median age was 30 years (IQR: 23-36 years). The most frequent mechanism of injury was road traffic accidents (84.6%). 67/143 (46.9%) patients tested positive for alcohol and 44/122 (36.1%) patients tested positive for drugs. 29 (26.1%) tested positive for alcohol and drugs. The most frequently detected illicit drug was marijuana in 30/122 (24.5%) injured patients. 23/53 (43.4%) patients with positive alcohol testing self-reported alcohol use. 3/25 patients with positive illicit drug tests who were able to provide self-reports, self-reported drug use. At 30-day followup, 43 (64.2%) injured patients who tested positive for alcohol had undergone major surgery, 6 (9.0%) had died, and 36 (53.7%) had not yet returned to their baseline.
conclusionsThe prevalence of alcohol and illicit drugs is very high in patients presenting to the ED-MNH with injury. Further studies are needed to generalise the results in Tanzania. Public health initiatives to decrease drinking and/or illicit drug use and driving should be implemented.
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