Everyone knows that drinking and driving is a bad combination. On average, nearly 17,000 people are killed each year in drunk driving crashes, which is more than a third of all traffic-related crashes. Although it is very well understood that drinking and driving increases the likelihood of crashing, little has been done to look at the effect of alcohol on brain injury in survivors.
Six years of data were reviewed by researchers at the LA County – University of Southern California Medical Center in Los Angeles. They saw over 1000 people with severe head injuries, and 482 had alcohol levels measured. A total of 179 tested positive.
Intoxicated patients had higher rates of infection, an increased chance of needing a tracheostomy tube in their neck for breathing, but overall their survival was better than in non-intoxicated ones.
How could this be? The study numbers are low and the design was very basic, which increases the chance this could be a statistical fluke. But it may very well be that alcohol does have some kind of protective effective on brain cells. This has been shown in a few other human studies as well.
Does this mean that people should feel free to drink so they have a better chance in a car crash? Absolutely not! The chance of getting into a crash in the first place goes up dramatically after just a few drinks. The likelihood of the crash being immediately fatal increases as well. Finally, although these people survived, they were not necessarily normal. Adults are far less likely to recover completely after a bad head injury. The need for a tracheostomy tube tells me that many of these people ended up in transitional care units or nursing homes after their discharge from the hospital.
The bottom line: it’s still a bad idea to drink and drive!
Salim, Teixeira, Ley et al. J Trauma 2009; 67(4):697-703.
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