Alcohol diagnostic validation for injury-related trauma: Findings from a pilot study

Prinsloo, Megan, Petersen Williams, Petal, Neethling, Ian, Mhlongo, Shibe X., Maqungo, Sithombo, Peden, Margaret M., Parry, Charles and Matzopoulos, Richard (2023) Alcohol diagnostic validation for injury-related trauma: Findings from a pilot study. Digital Health, 9. ISSN 2055-2076

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Abstract

Introduction: Alcohol consumption is a key driver of the burden of violence and injury in South Africa (SA). Hence, we aim to validate various alcohol assessment tools against a blood test to assess their utility for improving national health practice and policy.  Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional pilot study from 3 to 19 August 2022 at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, SA. This was to test logistics for the time of venous blood centrifugation and validation of alcohol assessment tools used in injured patients ahead of the main validation study. Adults aged 18 years and older, who were injured <8 h before arrival were included. Consent was obtained for venous blood alcohol testing to validate, as the gold standard, against the following: active- and passive breath alcohol testing, clinical screening and a finger prick test. Descriptive statistics were reported for the pilot study. Results: The active breath alcohol test's digital reading and the passive test's ‘yes/no’ results corresponded well against the venous blood alcohol results. The average time to centrifugation was within the laboratory's 2-h cut-off requirement to preserve the alcohol in the serum.  Discussion and Conclusion: The pilot study was helpful in identifying challenges with one of the alcohol assessment tools and prevented further costs ahead of the main validation study. We also determined that the selected tertiary hospital site caused a delay in recruiting eligible patients due to other hospital referrals. Hence, the main validation study is in progress at a district-level hospital for a larger sample of eligible patients for testing.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2023.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	alcohol assessment tools,alcohol consumption,blood alcohol,breathalyzer,evidentiary breath alcohol testing,injury,south africa,violence,health policy,health informatics,computer science applications,health information management,sdg 3 - good health and well-being,sdg 16 - peace, justice and strong institutions ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2700/2719
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > School of Health Sciences
Related URLs:	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	05 Mar 2026 15:30
Last Modified:	17 Mar 2026 01:22
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/102226
DOI:	10.1177/20552076231218138

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