Incidence of fatalities of road traffic accidents associated with alcohol consumption and the use of psychoactive drugs: A 7-year survey (2011-2017).

Incidence of fatalities of road traffic accidents associated with alcohol consumption and the use of psychoactive drugs: A 7-year survey (2011-2017). Exp Ther Med. 2019 Sep;18(3):2299-2306 Authors: Papalimperi AH, Athanaselis SA, Mina AD, Papoutsis II, Spiliopoulou CA, Papadodima SA Abstract Driving under the influence of alcohol and/or psychoactive substances increases the risk of severe, even fatal motor vehicle accidents. The aim of this descriptive study was to present the impact of alcohol and/or psychoactive substances on fatal road traffic accidents (RTAs) during the period 2011-2017. For this purpose, the toxicological investigation reports from the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology of the University of Athens were used. In total, 1,841 (32.2%) of the autopsies conducted by the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens over a 7-year period (2011-2017) were victims of fatal RTAs. Blood and urine samples were collected and analyzed for the presence of alcohol and psychoactive substances. The results were classified according to sex, age, victim (car driver, motorcyclist, pedestrian, or passenger) and the date the accident occurred (day, month and year). In total, 40.7% of the RTA-related fatalities were associated with alcohol consumption, among which 20.3% were car drivers. Of these, 87.3% were male victims. A higher frequency of RTA-related fatalities ass...
Source: Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine - Category: General Medicine Tags: Exp Ther Med Source Type: research