Craniocerebral Injuries and the Glasgow Coma Scale Score in the Patients under the Influence of Alcohol Admitted to Hospital Emergency Department

Abstract

Introduction. Alcohol abuse constitutes a significant social and health problem in Poland. Consumption of even a small amount of alcohol causes an increase in the probability of the injury.
Aim. The objective of the thesis was to determine the relationship between the scoring in the Glasgow Coma Scale and head injuries in the patients under the influence of alcohol admitted to the Hospital Emergency Department in an urgent mode.
Material and Methods. On the basis of the retrospective analysis the group of 210 intoxicated patients of the Hospital Emergency Department of the University Hospital in Cracow (167 men and 43 women) who sustained head injuries during the period from 1st May 2011 to 1st May 2012 was examined. The data included in the medical documentation, such as: age, gender, result of the scoring in the Glasgow Coma Scale, blood alcohol level, sustained head injuries on the basis of the CT examination and selected co-existing post-traumatic disorders were taken into consideration.
Results. Among the patients with high blood alcohol level there were people with both high and low results in the Glasgow Coma Scale. The patients with fractures of the facial bones and skull base, epidural haematoma, pericerebral haematoma, subdural haematoma, intracerebral haematoma, subarachnoid haematoma, cerebral edema, displacement of the ventricular system and blood in the location of the cerebellar tentorium had the lower scoring in the Glasgow Coma Scale than other patients. The lowest score in the Glasgow Coma Scale had the patients who fell from height, the highest one — patients after a suicide attempt.
Conclusions. Blood alcohol level did not have an influence on the scoring in the Glasgow Coma Scale. There is a relationship between the scoring in the Glasgow Coma Scale and head injuries. The GCS score depended on the symptoms that co-exist with the head injuries. The mechanism (cause) of sustained head injury determined the score in the Glasgow Coma Scale. (JNNN 2015;4(2):56–61)