Table 1 Alcohol breath test analysis results, characteristics of patients and emergency types
Patients by test result or performance n = 258 | Positive result 35 (100 %) | Negative result 47 (100 %) | No breath test 176 (100 %) |
|---|---|---|---|
Alcohol concentration in the breath test (‰)a | Reason for failed testing Impaired consciousness 56 (22 %) | ||
<1 | 1 (3 %) | NA | Cardiac arrest 38 (15 %) |
1–2 | 14 (40 %) | NA | Shortness of breath 26 (10 %) |
2–3 | 14 (40 %) | NA | Pediatric 16 (6 %) |
3–4 | 5 (14 %) | NA | Refused 5 (2 %) |
>4 | 1 (3 %) | NA | Unknown 35 (14 %) |
Patient characteristics | |||
Male | 24 (69 %) | 27 (57 %) | 108 (61 %) |
Female | 11 (31 %) | 20 (43 %) | 68 (39 %) |
Age (years) | |||
<15 | NA | NA | 16 (9 %) |
15–20 | 2 (6 %) | 5 (11 %) | 6 (3 %) |
21–30 | 9 (27 %) | 8 (17 %) | 13 (7 %) |
31–40 | 7 (20 %) | 4 (9 %) | 11 (6 %) |
41–50 | 8 (24 %) | 7 (15 %) | 24 (14 %) |
51–60 | 6 (17 %) | 6 (13 %) | 25 (14 %) |
>60 | 3 (6 %) | 17 (36 %) | 81 (46 %) |
Type of emergency | |||
Blunt trauma | 11 (31 %) | 8 (17 %) | 29 (16 %) |
Intoxication incl. substance abuse | 11 (31 %) | 5 (11 %) | 15 (9 %) |
Penetrating trauma | 5 (14 %) | 3 (6 %) | 2 (1 %) |
Neurological (excluding ischaemic stroke) | 4 (11 %) | 8 (17 %) | 31 (18 %) |
Respiratory | 2 (6 %) | 1 (2 %) | 19 (11 %) |
Other | 2 (6 %) | 22 (47 %) | 80 (45 %) |