Alcohol saliva test strips effectively identify trauma patients’ consumption.

In a study involving 805 trauma patients in Malawi, researchers found that 18.3% reported alcohol use. The alcohol saliva test (AST) showed a 95.5% agreement with breathalyzer results, with a kappa coefficient of 0.83. The AST’s sensitivity was 78.5% and specificity was 99.3%, demonstrating excellent discrimination capacity (AUC 0.88). The findings underscore the feasibility of AST for routine alcohol testing in resource-limited settings, highlighting a critical need to address high rates of alcohol-related injuries.