The role of alcohol in deaths presenting to the coroner's service in Cork City and County.

A retrospective study was conducted in order to determine the prevalence and concentration of alcohol in post-mortem blood samples sent for toxicological analysis in Cork City and County in 2003 and 2004. Post mortem reports of these deaths were reviewed for the presence or absence of alcohol at the time of autopsy, blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at time of death, age and sex of the decedents. Of samples sent for blood alcohol analysis (BAA), 38.4% were positive for alcohol. Significant differences were found between the proportions of alcohol positive cases by cause of death. Alcohol positive cases were significantly younger (44.3 +/- 17.8 years) than alcohol negative cases (51.9 +/- 19.4 years) and fifty two percent of drivers were positive for alcohol at the time of death. Awareness of the harmful and potentially fatal effects of alcohol should continue to be raised within the community, so as to prevent future fatalities.