Hurt teens often test positive for alcohol, drugs

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Nearly 40 percent of teenagers
treated for injuries at one hospital had traces of alcohol or
illegal drugs in their blood, U.S. researchers reported on
Wednesday.

They said their finding, published in the Journal of
Pediatric Surgery, suggested that it may be useful to screen
young people treated for traumatic injuries for illegal
substances.

The team at the University of Michigan Health System
studied 443 patients aged 14 to 17 who were admitted to the
University of Michigan’s hospital for treatment of a severe
injury between 1999 and 2003.

They found nearly 40 percent tested positive for something
they should not have been using — 29 percent of them for
opiates such as opium or heroin, 11.2 percent for alcohol, and
20 percent for marijuana.

“The two major preventable health issues facing adolescents
are injuries that result in death or disability, and lifestyle
choices that have long-term, adverse health consequences,” said
Dr. Peter Ehrlich, who led the study.

“To help alter this risk-taking behavior, it is essential
that drug testing and brief substance abuse intervention
programs be included in the treatment of all injured
adolescents,” Ehrlich said in a statement.

Not every teen who was seen at the hospital was screened,
so the researchers are not sure how representative their sample
is.

“To really make an impact on the care of these adolescents,
drug screening cannot be performed selectively and
irregularly,” Ehrlich said.

“Those who drink under the age of 19 are significantly more
likely to report driving after drinking or getting into a car
with someone who’s been drinking — and their odds of them
being injured are two to three times greater than adults of
legal drinking age,” he said.