Positive Serum Ethanol Level and Mortality in Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

HYPOTHESIS Ethanol exposure is associated with decreased mortality in patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. DESIGN Retrospective database review. SETTING Trauma centers contributing to the National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB). PATIENTS Version 6.2 of the NTDB (2000-2005) was queried for all patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (head Abbreviated Injury Score ≥3) and ethanol levels measured on admission. Demographics and outcomes were compared between patients with traumatic brain injuries with and without ethanol in their blood. Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between mortality and ethanol. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Mortality and complications. RESULTS A total of 38 019 patients with severe traumatic brain injuries were evaluated. Thirty-eight percent tested positive for ethanol. Ethanol-positive patients were younger (mean [SD], 37.7 [15.1] vs 44.1 [22.0] years, P