Objective: to describe the causes and severities of trauma in patients who met the criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence according to Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, and to display the pattern of alcohol consumption and subsequent changes one year after trauma. Methods: a transversal and longitudinal quantitative study carried out between November 2012 and September 2013 in the ED. Medical and nursing students collected blood samples, applied the J section of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) and submitted alcohol abusers and dependents to BI. One year after admission, patients were contacted and asked about their patterns of alcohol use and their reasons for any changes. Results: from a sample of 507 patients admitted to the ED for trauma, 348 responded to MINI, 90 (25.9%) being abusers and 36 (10.3%) dependent on alcohol. Among the abusers, the most frequent cause of injury was motorcycle accident (35.6%) and among the dependents it was predominantly interpersonal violence (22.2%). Positive blood samples for alcohol were identified in 31.7% of the abusers and 53.1% of the dependents. One year after trauma, 66 abusers and 31 dependents were contacted, and it was ascertained that 36.4% of the abusers and 19.4% of the dependents had decreased alcohol consumption. The main reported reason for the reduction was the experienced trauma. Conclusion: the motorcycle accident was the most common cause of injury. The detection of problematic alcohol use and implementation of BI are important strategies in the ED, however for alcohol abusers and dependents, BI was not the most reported reason for any changes in patterns of alcohol use. © 2015, Colegio Brasileiro de Cirurgioes. All rights reserved.424202207(2008) World Drug Report: 2008, , New York: United Nations(2007) Alcohol and injury in Emergency Departments: Summary of the report from the WHO Collaborative Study on Alcohol and Injuries, , Geneve: Word Health OrganizationCremonte, M., Cherpitel, C.J., Alcohol intake and risk of injury (2014) Medicina., 74 (4), pp. 287-292Hankin, A., Wei, S., Foreman, J., Houry, D., Screening for violence risk factors identifies young adults at risk for return emergency department visit for injury (2014) West J Emerg Med., 15 (5), pp. 609-614(2008) Indicadores básicos para a saúde no Brasil: Conceitos e aplicações, , Indicadores de mortalidade. Rede Interagencial de Informações para a Saúde - RIPSA. [Internet]. Brasília (DF): Organização Pan-Americana da SaúdeMathers, C.D., Loncar, D., Projections of global mortality and burden of disease from 2002 to 2030 (2006) PLoS Med., 3 (11)Cherpitel, C.J., Bond, J., Ye, Y., Borges, G., McDonald, S., Giesbrecht, N., A cross-national meta-analysis of alcohol and injury: Data from the Emergency Room Collaborative Alcohol Analysis Project (ERCAAP) (2003) Addiction., 98 (9), pp. 1277-1286D'Onofrio, G., Pantalon, M.V., Degutis, L.C., Fiellin, D.A., Busch, S.H., Chawarski, M.C., Brief intervention for hazardous and harmful drinkers in the emergency department (2008) Ann Emerg Med., 51 (6), p. 2Cunningham, R.M., Bernstein, S.L., Walton, M., Broderick, K., Vaca, F.E., Woolard, R., Alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs: Future directions for screening and intervention in the emergency department (2009) Acad Emerg Med., 16 (11), pp. 1078-1088Segatto, M.L., Pinsky, I., Laranjeira, R., Rezende, F.F., Vilela, T.R., Triagem e intervenção breve em pacientes alcoolizados atendidos na emergência: Perspectivas e desafios (2007) Cad Saúde Pública., 23 (8), pp. 1753-1762Diestelkamp, S., Arnaud, N., Sack, P.M., Wartberg, L., Daubmann, A., Thomasius, R., Brief motivational intervention for adolescents treated in emergency departments for acute alcohol intoxication - a randomized-controlled trial (2014) BMC Emerg Med., 14, p. 13Sheehan, D.V., Lecrubier, Y., Sheehan, K.H., Amorim, P., Janavs, J., Weiller, E., The Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.): The development and validation of a structured diagnostic psychiatric interview for DSM-IV and ICD-10 (1998) J Clin Psychiatry., 59, pp. 22-33(1994) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, , 4th ed. Washington (DC): American Psychiatric Association(1995) Manual de classificação estatística internacional de doenças e problemas relacionados à saúde, , São Paulo: Centro da OMS para classificação de doenças em português - USPMattox, K., Feliciano, D.V., Moore, E.E., (2005) Trauma, , editors. 4th ed. New York: MacGraw HillBaker, S.P., O'Neill, B., Haddon, W., Jr., Long, W.B., The injury severity score: A method for describing patients with multiple injuries and evaluating emergency care (1974) J Trauma., 14 (3), pp. 187-196Zerhouni, O., Bègue, L., Brousse, G., Carpentier, F., Dematteis, M., Pennel, L., Alcohol and violence in the emergency room: A review and perspectives from psychological and social sciences (2013) Int J Environ Res Public Health., 10 (10), pp. 4584-4606Santos, A.M.R., Moura, M.E.B., Nunes, B.M.V.T., Leal, C.F.S., Teles, J.B.M., Perfil das vítimas de trauma por acidente de moto atendidas em um serviço público de emergência (2008) Cad Saúde Pública., 24 (8), pp. 1927-1938Gazal-Carvalho, C., Carlini-Cotrim, B., Silva, O.A., Sauaia, N., Prevalência de alcoolemia em vítimas de causas externas admitidas em centro urbano de atenção ao trauma (2002) Rev Saúde Pública., 36 (1), pp. 47-54Moraes, E., Campos, G.M., Figlie, N.B., Laranjeira, R.R., Ferraz, M.B., Conceitos introdutórios de economia da saúde e o impacto social do abuso de álcool (2006) Rev Bras Psiquiatr., 28 (4), pp. 321-325Gentilello, L.M., Ebel, B.E., Wickizer, T.M., Salkever, D.S., Rivara, F.P., Alcohol interventions for trauma patients treated in emergency departments and hospitals: A cost benefit analysis (2005) Ann Surg., 241 (4), pp. 541-550Madras, B., Compton, W.M., Avula, D., Stegbauer, T., Stein, J.B., Clark, H.W., Screeening, brief interventions, referral to treatment (SBIRT) for illicit drug and alcohol use at multiple healthcare sites: Comparison at intake and 6 months later (2009) Drug Alcohol Depend., 99 (1-3), pp. 280-295Laranjeira, R., Madruga, C.S., Pinsky, I., Mitsushiro, S., Caetano, R., (2012) II Brazilian National Alcohol and Drugs Survey. UNIAD: Unidade de Pesquisas em Álcool e Drogas, , São Paulo: Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)Duarte, P.C.A.V., Carlini-Cotrim, B., Álcool e violência: Estudo dos processos de homicídio julgados nos Tribunais do Júri de Curitiba, PR, entre 1995 e 1998 (2000) J Bras Dep Quim., 1 (1), pp. 17-25Dolan, S.L., Bechara, A., Nathan, P.E., Executive dysfunction as a risk marker for substance abuse: The role of impulsive personality traits (2008) Behav Sci Law., 26 (6), pp. 799-822Poldrugo, F., Alcohol and criminal behavior (1998) Alcohol Alcohol., 33 (1), pp. 12-15Prat, G., Adan, A., Pérez-Pàlmies, M., Sànchez-Turet, M., Neurocognitive effects of alcohol hangover (2008) Addict Behav., 33 (1), pp. 15-23Challub, M., Telles, L.E.B., Álcool, drogas e crime (2006) Rev Bras Psiquiatr., 28, pp. 69-73Field, C.A., Claassen, C.A., O'Keefe, G., Association of alcohol use and other high-risk behaviors among trauma patients (2001) J Trauma., 50 (1), pp. 13-19Shyhalla, K., Alcohol involvement and other risky driver behaviors: Effects on crash initiation and crash severity (2014) Traffic Inj Prev., 15 (4), pp. 325-334Legrand, S.A., Silverans, P., de Paepe, P., Buylaert, W., Verstraete, A.G., Presence of psychoactive substances in injured Belgian drivers (2013) Traffic Inj Prev., 14 (5), pp. 461-468Finney, J.W., Moos, R.H., Matching patients with treatment: Conceptual and methodological issues (1986) J Stud Alcohol., 47 (2), pp. 122-134