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Background  Alcohol and illicit drugs have been found to be major contributing factors leading to severe injuries in a variety of settings. In Tanzania, the use of these substances among injured patients has not been studied. We investigated the prevalence of positive tests for alcohol and illicit drug use among injured patients presenting to the emergency medicine department (ED) of Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH).    Methods  This was a prospective cohort study of a consecutive sample of patients > 18 years of age presenting to the ED-MNH with injury related complaints in October and November 2015. A structured data sheet was used to record demographic information, mechanism of injury, clinical presentation, alcohol and illicit drug test results, and ED disposition. Alcohol levels and illicit drug use were tested by breathalyser device or swab stick alcohol test and multidrug urine panel, respectively. Patients were followed up for 24 h and 30 days using medical chart reviews and phone calls. Descriptive statistics and relative risk were used to describe the results.    Results  We screened 1011 patients and we enrolled all 143 (14.1%) patients who met inclusion criteria. 123 (86.0%) were male, the median age was 30 years (IQR: 23–36 years). The most frequent mechanism of injury was road traffic accidents (84.6%). 67/143 (46.9%) patients tested positive for alcohol and 44/122 (36.1%) patients tested positive for drugs. 29 (26.1%) tested positive for alcohol and drugs. The most frequently detected illicit drug was marijuana in 30/122 (24.5%) injured patients. 23/53 (43.4%) patients with positive alcohol testing self-reported alcohol use. 3/25 patients with positive illicit drug tests who were able to provide self-reports, self-reported drug use. At 30-day followup, 43 (64.2%) injured patients who tested positive for alcohol had undergone major surgery, 6 (9.0%) had died, and 36 (53.7%) had not yet returned to their baseline.    Conclusions  The prevalence of alcohol and illicit drugs is very high in patients presenting to the ED-MNH with injury. Further studies are needed to generalise the results in Tanzania. Public health initiatives to decrease drinking and/or illicit drug use and driving should be implemented.    Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (10.1186/s12873-019-0222-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

bmc emergency medicine

The prevalence of alcohol and illicit drug use among injured patients presenting to the emergency department of a national hospital in Tanzania: a prospective cohort study