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Relationships between Ambulance Transports for Alcohol Intoxication and Assault
Author(s) -
Fullerton Lynne,
Olson Lenora,
Crandall Cameron,
Lee M. Jack,
Sklar David
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
academic emergency medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.221
H-Index - 124
eISSN - 1553-2712
pISSN - 1069-6563
DOI - 10.1111/j.1553-2712.1998.tb02713.x
Subject(s) - medicine , alcohol intoxication , poison control , odds ratio , injury prevention , alcohol , emergency medicine , logistic regression , biochemistry , chemistry
Objective : To evaluate the association between ambulance transports for assault and those for alcohol intoxication. Methods : A retrospective analysis of emergency medical services (EMS) calls was performed. The authors used logistic regression models to compare patients transported for alcohol intoxication with a control group of patients transported for respiratory distress (asthma or shortness of breath) with respect to whether they had been transported on a separate occasion for a chief complaint of assault. Results : Patients transported for alcohol intoxication had 9 times the risk of transport for assault as compared with the control group (OR = 9.3; 95% CI = 6.4, 13.6). The odds of transport for assault among the alcohol patients increased 17.1% with each alcohol transport (OR = 1.17; 95% CI = 1.14, 1.20) but decreased for the control group (OR = 0.34; 95% CI = 0.26, 0.44). Repeat transports for assault were more common among the alcohol patients than among the control group (OR = 3.3; 95% CI = 1.1, 11.3). The mean number of assault transports was higher among the alcohol patients than among the patients never transported for alcohol intoxication (p < 0.0001). Conclusions : Patients transported on multiple occasions for acute alcohol intoxication are at relatively high risk for assault. This risk group should be targeted for focused assault prevention interventions that include components designed to reduce incidents of repeat alcohol intoxication.