Author
The authors of this article are Nada Andelic, Tone Jerstad, Solrun Sigurdardotti, Anne-Kristine Schanke, Leiv Sandvik, and Cecilie Roe.
Type of Research The type of research used in this study was quantitative.
Purpose of Study The purpose of this study was to describe occurrence of substance use at time of injury and pre-injury substance abuse in patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries.
Research Question The researchers sought to answer, “is substance abuse more frequent at the time of injury compared to pre-injury in patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries?” (Andelic, 2010).
Method
The method of achieving the purpose was through a prospective study of 111 patients, aged 16 to 55 years who were injured and hospitalized with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injuries. They went through multiple tests such as CTs, GCS, injury severity, Marshall classification, and CAGE questionnaires. The results of these tests were then evaluated.
Sample
The sample for this study were patients aged between 16 and 55 years old who were injured between May of 2005 and May of 2007. These patients …show more content…
Blood alcohol levels or a positive drug screens were done to gain the information regarding the patients who were under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the injury while a CAGE questionnaire was used to evaluate pre-injury substance abuse. Both groups with prior substance abuse as well as current substance abuse were used. Patients with “co-morbidities, previously diagnosed severe substance abuse disorders, and who were homeless were excluded from this study” (Andelic,