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Brief report
Harmful alcohol use among injured adult patients presenting to a Ghanaian emergency department
  1. Andrew Gardner1,
  2. Paa Kobina Forson2,
  3. George Oduro2,
  4. Doreen Djan2,
  5. Kwame Ofori Adu2,
  6. Kwasi Ofori-Anti2,
  7. Ronald F Maio3
  1. 1University of Michigan Medical School, 1500 E Medical Center Dr, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
  2. 2Department of Emergency Medicine, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ashanti, Ghana
  3. 3Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Andrew Gardner, University of Michigan Medical School, 2800 Plymouth Road, Suite G080, NCRC Building 10, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2800, USA; aellisgardner{at}gmail.com

Abstract

We performed a nested convenience sample survey of harmful alcohol use among injured patients aged 18 years and older treated in the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (Kumasi, Ghana) emergency department (ED). Data from the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test, alcohol breath or saliva tests, patient demographics and injury characteristics were collected from an administered survey and medical chart review. A total of 403 subjects were surveyed, and 107 (27%; 95% CI 22 to 31) reported harmful alcohol use. High rates of harmful alcohol use were found among males (35%), acutely alcohol-positive subjects (55%), drivers (32%), pedestrians (35%) and assault victims (43%). A substantial proportion of injured patients reported harmful alcohol use. The data obtained support routine screening of injured patients presenting to Ghanaian EDs for harmful alcohol use.

https://doi.org/10.1136/injuryprev-2016-042104

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    Footnotes

    • Twitter Follow Kwasi Ofori-Anti at @princeghana

    • Contributors AG, PKF, GO and RFM designed the study, managed data collection, analysed results and made substantial contributions to writing the manuscript and subsequent revisions. DD, KOA and KO-A managed data collection, participated in data analysis and made substantial contributions to writing the manuscript and subsequent revisions.

    • Funding This study was funded by grant R25TW009345 from the US National Institutes of Health and Fogarty International Center (AG).

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent Obtained.

    • Ethics approval Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and University of Michigan Medical School institutional review boards approved this study.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Data sharing statement AG, PKF, GO and RFM share the data pertaining to acute alcohol use among the parent study population and have jointly developed a separate manuscript for publication.