Relationship between anatomical sites and severity of the lesions and use of alcohol and psychotropic substances in traumatized drivers admitted to emergency department of Padua, Italy

Introduction: Driving under the influence of alcohol and/or psychoactive substances increases the risk of road accidents, but it is controversial whether this affects site and severity of injuries.Material and methods: We search for alcohol, cannabinoid, cocaine, benzodiazepines, opioid, methadone, amphetamine and barbiturate in biological fluids of 1764 traumatized drivers admitted to the Emergency Department (ED) of Padova between 2010 and 2014.Results: We note correlation between alcohol and benzodiazepine and admission in ICU and between all the intoxications and the reserved prognosis. The sites of injuries were: head (37.13%), maxillofacial (8.33%), spinal column (44.67%), thoracic (15.31%), abdominal (5%), pelvis (2.55%) and limb traumas (23.58%). We observed a correlation between head trauma (p<0.0001), maxillofacial trauma (p=0.0418), thoracic trauma (p=0.0215), pelvic trauma (p=0.0008), spinal column trauma (p<0.0001) and the totality of the intoxication and an association between benzodiazepines and thoracic and pelvic trauma.Conclusions: Alcohol and benzodiazepines intoxication increases the risk of reserved prognosis and admission in ICU; benzodiazepines intoxication correlates with thoracic and pelvis trauma.