A new research reveals that injured people with alcohol in their blood have reduced risk of developing cardiac and renal complications.
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public analysed the data of 85,000 people who suffered from some injury and had their blood alcohol levels checked at a trauma center.
The levels of alcohol in the patients' blood were between 0 and 0.5 percent. Researcher noted 3.2 percent of the trauma victims died. The death rates were high for people who developed complications due to the injuries.
The analysis showed that heart and kidney complication risk was significantly lower for people who had alcohol than those who were sober. In fact, cardiac complications were reduced by 23.5 percent and renal complications by 30 percent in people who had some amount of alcohol in the bloodstream.
People with fewer or no health complications were more likely to survive an accident, researchers said. However, researchers did not explain how alcohol saved people with injuries.
"After an injury, if you are intoxicated there seems to be a substantial protective effect," said UIC injury epidemiologist Lee Friedman, author of the study. "But we don't fully understand why this occurs."
"Even though alcohol is metabolized quickly by the body, it appears the protective benefit lasts long after there should be only trace amounts in the body," Friedman said in a press release.
Researchers said the findings are important as it will help doctors plan better strategies to save trauma patients.
The study was published in the journal 'Alcohol'.
