Home > Alcohol-related fracture admissions: a retrospective observational study.

Marley, W D and Kelly, G and Thompson, N W (2015) Alcohol-related fracture admissions: a retrospective observational study. The Ulster Medical Journal, 84, (2), pp. 94-97.

External website: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC44889...

INTRODUCTION
In April 2011 the NI public health agency estimated that alcohol misuse generates overall annual healthcare costs of £122.2m. There is currently a paucity of data regarding the burden of alcohol-related fractures on the provinces Trauma and Orthopaedic service.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
A retrospective review of 104 patients over a 12 month period was performed. Data collected using the Fractures Outcomes and Research Database included: age, gender, smoking status, weekly alcohol intake, mechanism of injury and subsequent treatment.

RESULTS
Alcohol related fractures accounted for 6.1% of all acute fractures admissions in the 12 month period. 73% were male, with a bimodal age distribution. The majority of patients were classed as social drinkers; however a significant proportion (23.1%) were alcohol dependent. 62.5% of patients were smokers at the time of admission. 95% of patients suffered a single injury which was commonly secondary to a simple mechanical fall (53.8%). The majority of patients sustained lower limb injuries, with 30.8% of these being ankle fractures.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, our study has identified that alcohol-related trauma creates a significant financial burden on the NHS. It is likely that the incidence of alcohol related fracture is higher than documented in this study. We advocate the assessment of patients using the AUDIT-C score to assess for at risk drinking behaviour in those presenting with an alcohol related fracture.


Item Type
Article
Publication Type
Irish-related, Open Access, Article
Drug Type
Alcohol
Date
2015
Page Range
pp. 94-97
Publisher
The Ulster Medical Society
Volume
84
Number
2
EndNote
Accession Number
HRB (Electronic Only)

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