Computed Tomography of the Brain in Trauma Patients With Alcohol Intoxication and Brain Injuries

Background. Alcohol intoxication is known to be associated with increased probability of traumatic injury. Although, the Glasgow coma scale (GCS) and computed tomography (CT) of the brain are useful diagnostic tools in patients with head injuries, the interactions among blood alcohol concentration (BAH), Glasgow coma scale and computed tomography findings are not clear. Methods. This study included 109 patients with head injuries and alcohol intoxication. Forty-three patients (group I) had blood alcohol concentrations less than 50 mg/dl, and 66 patients (group II) had blood alcohol concentrations more than 50 mg/dl. All the patients had neurological examination using the mean of GCS, blood alcohol concentration and CT of brain upon admission to the emergency department. Results. There were similar score of GCS (10.1±3.4 vs. 10.1±3.2) and incidence of positive CT findings (60% vs. 50%) between the two groups. In group I, the patients with a low GCS (＜11 points) had higher incidence of positive brain CT findings than the patients with a high GCS (≧11 points) (22% vs. 88%, p=0.05). In group II, there was a similar incidence of positive brain CT findings between the patients with low and high GCS (42% vs 60%, p＞0.05). Conclusions. The results of this study demonstrate different results of GCS and brain injury in patients with a low or high blood alcohol concentration. Our results suggest that brain CT scan is a strong indicator for trauma in patients with lower blood alcohol and lower GCS scores.