Saudi Journal of Emergency Medicine

Previous Article Next Article
Original Article
SJEMed. 2022; 3(2): 145-150

The prevalence of illegal and alcoholic substances among motor vehicle crash survivors: results from a Level-I Trauma Center in Saudi Arabia

Authors: Mona Alsanae, Fahad Allohidan, Fares F. Alharbi, Mohammed Alamri, Munthir Almujahid, Nawfal Aljerian, Suliman Alghnam.

View PDF HTML Fulltext DOI: 10.24911/SJEMed/72-1642181741

Abstract

Background: Drug abuse is a public health problem in any country and road safety in particular as it poses serious consequences while driving, affecting the safety of all road users. This study aimed to investigate the drug prevalence and alcohol abuse among motor vehicle crash (MVC) survivors. Methods: This descriptive study was based on a review of the retrospective chart involving patients that were admitted to the Emergency Department (ED) of a level-I trauma center in Riyadh following an MVC. Injured patients in 2018 were identified from the electronic medical record system, and substance investigation was documented. After the hospital discharge, the research team contacted patients via phone to obtain further details about the nature of the crash and illegal substance use. Results: During the study, 209 patients were admitted to the ED following MVCs. The population was primarily males (84.7%) with an average age of 30 years. Forty subjects (19.14%) were screened for illegal substances by blood, urine, or both, 35 of which had confirmed intoxication. Alcohol was used in almost two-thirds of the 35 lab-confirmed intoxicated subjects (n = 23, 65.71%) either alone or in combination with other types of drugs. Conclusion: The widespread use of alcohol and other drug abuse among those involved in MVC is alarming and endangers road safety. There is a need to implement well-defined guidelines to screen, detect, and impose a penalty on driving under the influence to reduce MVC and improve population health.

Keywords:   Illegal Substances, Motor Vehicle Crash (MVC), Saudi Arabia, Drug Abuse, Alcohol, Emergency Department (ED), Trauma.


© Copyright: Author(s)

Open access Creative Commons License
The prevalence of illegal and alcoholic substances among motor vehicle crash survivors: results from a Level-I Trauma Center in Saudi Arabia


Authors
Mona Alsanae
Department of Emergency, Ministry of the National Guard - Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
PubMed articlesGoogle scholar articles

Fahad Allohidan
Department of Psychiatry, Ministry of the National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
PubMed articlesGoogle scholar articles

Fares F Alharbi
Department of Psychiatry, Ministry of the National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
PubMed articlesGoogle scholar articles

Mohammed Alamri
College of Public Health and Health Informatics, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
PubMed articlesGoogle scholar articles

Munthir Almujahid
Department of Pediatrics, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
PubMed articlesGoogle scholar articles

Nawfal Aljerian
5General Administration of Medical Councils and Health Attaches, Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia
PubMed articlesGoogle scholar articles

Suliman Alghnam
Population Health Section, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center KAIMRC, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
PubMed articlesGoogle scholar articles


Correspondence to:
. Mona Alsanae, Department of Emergency, Ministry of the National Guard - Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.; monamohammads@gmail.com

Publication history
Received 06 Feb 2022
Revised 01 Apr 2022
Accepted 20 Apr 2022
Published online 24 May 2022
Published in print 08 Jun 2022

How to cite this article

Pubmed Style

Alsanae M, Allohidan F, Alharbi FF, Alamri M, Almujahid M, Aljerian N, Alghnam S. The prevalence of illegal and alcoholic substances among motor vehicle crash survivors: results from a Level-I Trauma Center in Saudi Arabia. SJEMed. 2022; 3(2): 145-150. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1642181741


Web Style

Alsanae M, Allohidan F, Alharbi FF, Alamri M, Almujahid M, Aljerian N, Alghnam S. The prevalence of illegal and alcoholic substances among motor vehicle crash survivors: results from a Level-I Trauma Center in Saudi Arabia. https://www.sjemed.com/?mno=4339 [Access: March 20, 2023]. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1642181741


AMA (American Medical Association) Style

Alsanae M, Allohidan F, Alharbi FF, Alamri M, Almujahid M, Aljerian N, Alghnam S. The prevalence of illegal and alcoholic substances among motor vehicle crash survivors: results from a Level-I Trauma Center in Saudi Arabia. SJEMed. 2022; 3(2): 145-150. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1642181741


Vancouver/ICMJE Style

Alsanae M, Allohidan F, Alharbi FF, Alamri M, Almujahid M, Aljerian N, Alghnam S. The prevalence of illegal and alcoholic substances among motor vehicle crash survivors: results from a Level-I Trauma Center in Saudi Arabia. SJEMed. (2022), [cited March 20, 2023]; 3(2): 145-150. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1642181741


Harvard Style

Alsanae, M., Allohidan, . F., Alharbi, . F. F., Alamri, . M., Almujahid, . M., Aljerian, . N. & Alghnam, . S. (2022) The prevalence of illegal and alcoholic substances among motor vehicle crash survivors: results from a Level-I Trauma Center in Saudi Arabia. SJEMed, 3 (2), 145-150. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1642181741


Turabian Style

Alsanae, Mona, Fahad Allohidan, Fares F. Alharbi, Mohammed Alamri, Munthir Almujahid, Nawfal Aljerian, and Suliman Alghnam. 2022. The prevalence of illegal and alcoholic substances among motor vehicle crash survivors: results from a Level-I Trauma Center in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Journal of Emergency Medicine, 3 (2), 145-150. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1642181741


Chicago Style

Alsanae, Mona, Fahad Allohidan, Fares F. Alharbi, Mohammed Alamri, Munthir Almujahid, Nawfal Aljerian, and Suliman Alghnam. "The prevalence of illegal and alcoholic substances among motor vehicle crash survivors: results from a Level-I Trauma Center in Saudi Arabia." Saudi Journal of Emergency Medicine 3 (2022), 145-150. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1642181741


MLA (The Modern Language Association) Style

Alsanae, Mona, Fahad Allohidan, Fares F. Alharbi, Mohammed Alamri, Munthir Almujahid, Nawfal Aljerian, and Suliman Alghnam. "The prevalence of illegal and alcoholic substances among motor vehicle crash survivors: results from a Level-I Trauma Center in Saudi Arabia." Saudi Journal of Emergency Medicine 3.2 (2022), 145-150. Print. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1642181741


APA (American Psychological Association) Style

Alsanae, M., Allohidan, . F., Alharbi, . F. F., Alamri, . M., Almujahid, . M., Aljerian, . N. & Alghnam, . S. (2022) The prevalence of illegal and alcoholic substances among motor vehicle crash survivors: results from a Level-I Trauma Center in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Journal of Emergency Medicine, 3 (2), 145-150. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1642181741


Click the icon of the social media platform on which you would like to share this article.