J Trauma
-
The effects of blood alcohol on injury after crash are controversial, and safe limits are not settled. We examined if a positive blood alcohol concentration, even in a nontoxic range, affects management and outcome of injured patients after road crashes. ⋯ In injured patients after a road crash, a positive blood alcohol concentration increases the chance that the final diagnosis will include more injuries than initially documented. More careful monitoring is needed in alcohol-positive trauma patients, independent of clinical status, injury severity, and overt symptoms of alcohol intoxication.