Comparison of injury pattern and clinical outcomes between young adults and elderly patients with alcohol-related injury in South Korea 2011–2016

BACKGROUND: Alcohol is an important factor that contributes to emergency department (ED) visits due to injury. However, the role of alcohol in elderly patients visiting ED due to injury has not been clearly defined. This study aims to examine age and alcohol as risk factors of injury severity and clinical outcomes. METHODS: This study included patients who visited EDs between January 2011 and December 2016. Data was obtained from the Emergency Department-Based Injury In-depth Surveillance of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, South Korea. Injury patients aged ≥18 years were included, but those who visited the ED more than 48 hours after injury, with unknown clinical outcomes (admission, mortality, and excess mortality ratio-adjusted injury severity score [EMR-ISS]) were excluded. RESULTS: We analyzed 887,712 patients, of whom 131,708 (17.7%) non-elderly and 9,906 (7.0%) elderly had alcohol-related injury. Falls and slips are the most common injury mechanism (37.9%) in patients consuming alcohol (36.3% non-elderly/58.40% elderly). The injury occurred on roads (40.6%), houses (33.8%), and commercial facilities (11.9%) in elderly patients consuming alcohol. Suicide rate was 12.0% in elderly and 9.7% in non-elderly patients. According to the time of day of injury, evening (60.8%) was the most common in elderly and night (62.6%) in non-elderly patients. Admission rate (odds ratio [OR] 2.512 confidence interval [CI] 2.407–2.621), intensive care unit (ICU) care rate (OR 5.507 [CI] 5.178–5.858), mortality rate (OR 4.593 [CI] 4.086–5.162), and EMR-ISS >25 (OR 5.498 [CI] 5.262–5.745) were compared between patients with alcohol-related injury and non-elderly with non-alcohol-related injury patients. Alcohol consumption in elderly patients results in significant impairment and increases EMR-ISS, ICU care rate, and mortality rate. To reduce injury in elderly patients, alcohol screening, appropriate counseling, and intervention are needed.