Substance Abuse Patient Characteristics: A Scene from an Emergency Department near the Hong Kong – Shenzhen Border

2001 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 196-201
Author(s):  
WC Yuen ◽  
WF Tang ◽  
CH Chung
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Substance Abuse ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Drug Abuse ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Substance Abuse Problem ◽  
Drug Abusers ◽  
Accident And Emergency ◽  
Accident And Emergency Department ◽  
Abused Drugs

Objective Drug abuse is an escalating problem in Hong Kong, especially among teenagers and young adults. A study was conducted in order to obtain the characteristics of drug abusers presenting to the Accident & Emergency department of North District Hospital, which is located in the New Territories near the Hong Kong – Shenzhen border. Design Prospective study. Setting Accident and Emergency department of a public general hospital. Patients Drug abusers presenting to the Accident and Emergency department in a six-month period. Main outcome measures Epidemiological data including demographic data, types of drug taken, place of drug abuse and magnitude of cross-border drug abuse were collected and analyzed. Results The sex distribution was male 59 and female 13 (ratio=4.5:1). The mean age was 29.2 (range 14 to 67 years). Of interest, 29.2% abused drugs at home; 29.2% abused drugs in parties such as karaoke, rave and disco; 68% abused drugs in Hong Kong; 32% abused drugs in China and 6.9% claimed themselves first-time drug abusers. The commonest drug taken was ecstasy (40.3%) – the majority (55%) in China and the rest (45%) in Hong Kong. For organic solvent abusers, 57.1% were below 18 years of age. One patient died, resulting in a mortality rate of 1.4%. Conclusion Ecstasy was the commonest drug abused on both sides of the “border”. The majority of substance abusers were teenagers or young adult males. This study confirmed the significant magnitude of psychotropic substance abuse problem among the young population in the North District, indicating the urgent need for clinical and social intervention.

scholarly journals Radiological features of body packers: An experience from a regional accident and emergency department in close proximity to the Hong Kong International Airport

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 202-210
Author(s):  
Ho Kai Patrick Tsang ◽  
Cheuk Kei Kathy Wong ◽  
Oi Fung Wong ◽  
Wing Lun William Chan ◽  
Hing Man Ma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Body Packing ◽  
Radiological Features ◽  
International Airport ◽  
Accident And Emergency ◽  
Accident And Emergency Department ◽  
Body Packers ◽  
Solid Form ◽  
Hong Kong International Airport

Background: Body packing is a frequently used method for drug trafficking. Local information about the clinical and radiological features of body packing is lacking. Objectives: To evaluate the radiological features of body packers presenting to a hospital near to the Hong Kong International Airport and to compare the radiological features of solid form versus liquid cocaine. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study. Medical notes of 269 suspected body packers, presenting to the Accident and Emergency Department of North Lantau Hospital under the detention by the law enforcement personnel from 1st January 2015 to 28th February 2017, were reviewed. The radiological features of body packing were retrospectively evaluated. Results: Sixty-nine cases were confirmed body packers radiographically. Majority of them (81%, 56/69) were cocaine packers. Powder form cocaine (67%, 49/69) was the most popular drug packed, followed by liquid cocaine (15%, 10/69). There was a trend of increasing incidence of liquid cocaine packers. The classical ‘double condom’, ‘tic tac’ and ‘halo’ signs were present in 94%, 72.5% and 42% of cases with radiologically confirmed body packing respectively. The ‘rosette’ sign was only identified in 1 case. Three new radiological signs, the ‘bag of eggs’, ‘lucent triangle’ and ‘black crescent’ sign, were suggested to aid identification of drug packets. The classical ‘tic tac’ sign was absent in all liquid cocaine packing cases (p<0.05). The liquid cocaine packets appeared irregular with indistinct border in majority of cases (p<0.05). The solid form packets were mostly opaque to faeces while liquid cocaine had variable density (p<0.05). Most solid form packets had homogeneous content which was in contrast to the heterogeneous content in liquid cocaine (p<0.05). Conclusion: Failure in detecting drug body packing may result in medicolegal consequences. Emergency physicians need to be aware of subtle radiological signs of liquid cocaine packets in the plain abdominal radiography.

scholarly journals Epidemiology of illicit and abused drugs in the general population, emergency department drug-related episodes, and arrestees

1996 ◽  
Vol 42 (8) ◽  
pp. 1330-1336 ◽  
Author(s):  
B A Rouse
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Substance Abuse ◽  
Drug Abuse ◽  
Drug Use ◽  
General Population ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Data Systems ◽  
General Decline ◽  
Abused Drugs ◽  
National Trends

Abstract National trends in substance abuse are presented: the civilian noninstitutionalized general population; drug-related emergency department episodes; and booked arrestees. Major metropolitan differences are also noted. This study was based on the primary national data systems for these groups: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, SAMHSA's Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), and the National Institute of Justice Drug Use Forecasting (DUF) system. While the most prevalent drug differed in the three data sources, all three showed recent increases in marijuana. Despite the general decline in drug use seen in the general population, both the number of drug-related cases in the DAWN system and the drug use detected in the DUF arrestees showed recent increases.

scholarly journals Ten-year profile of acute poisoning patients presenting to an Accident and Emergency Department requiring intensive care in a regional hospital of Hong Kong

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-14
Author(s):  
Fu Ng
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Emergency Department ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Substance Abusers ◽  
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning ◽  
Acute Poisoning ◽  
Accident And Emergency ◽  
Accident And Emergency Department ◽  
Emergency Medicine Ward

Background: Hong Kong Poison Information Centre publishes annual reports on all poisoning cases received by the Centre in that year since 2006. However, there is little data about acute poisoning cases requiring intensive care unit admissions in Hong Kong. Objective: To report and analyze the 10-year poisoning data of acute poisoning patients presenting to an Accident and Emergency Department requiring intensive care in a regional hospital of Hong Kong. Methods: This was a retrospective study on patients presented from January 2007 to December 2016. These cases were retrieved from Clinical Data Analysis and Reporting System of the Hospital Authority, Hong Kong. Clinical data of these cases were then retrieved from patients’ electronic records. Results: A total of 270 cases were analyzed during the period. There were 152 (56.3%) male patients and 118 (43.7%) female patients. The middle aged group (age 30–39 and age 40–49) constitutes nearly half (48.6%) of all these admissions. Around 50% of them had history of psychiatric illness. Nearly 40% of them were known substance abusers. Majority of the patients (66.7%) were admitted directly from Accident and Emergency Department. The commonest cause was suspected self-harm (56.3%). When ethanol (13%) was excluded, the five commonest types of poisons were benzodiazepine (26.3%), opioids (20.7%), zopiclone (18.5%), carbon monoxide poisoning (13%), and household products (10.7%). Twenty-seven patients (10%) had decontamination done in Accident and Emergency Department or Emergency Medicine Ward. 112 patients (41.5%) were given one or more antidotes in Accident and Emergency Department and Emergency Medicine Ward. Altered mental status was the most frequently found complications (72.2%) in these patients. 76 patients (28.1%) required endotracheal intubation in Accident and Emergency Department. The length of stay in Intensive Care Unit ranged from 1 to 7 days with an average of 2.1 days. There were 25 deaths (9.3%) and 31 patients with major effects (11.5%). Conclusion: An estimate of 9.4% of acute poisoning patients presenting to Accident and Emergency Department might need Intensive Care Unit care at certain stage of their hospital stay. Benzodiazepine, opioids, zopiclone, carbon monoxide poisoning, and ethanol were the top five poisons in our series from 2007 to 2016. The mortality rate (9.3%) was high in our series given that there were more substance abusers.

scholarly journals Prevalence of Substance Use Disorders among Patients of Accident and Emergency Department of a University Teaching Hospital

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-182
Author(s):  
D D Dapap ◽  
M D Audu ◽  
A Obembe ◽  
S Goar
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Substance Abuse ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Substance Use Disorders ◽  
Drug Test ◽  
Accident And Emergency ◽  
Urine Drug ◽  
Emergency Units ◽  
Accident And Emergency Department ◽  
Urine Drug Test

Substance abuse and dependence are frequently encountered in emergency units of our hospitals, and it accounts for major health care problems frequently leading to accident and emergency department admission, though it is often missed or not diagnosed. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of drug abuse and dependence among patients attending Accident and Emergency Hospitals and to determine the sociodemographic characteristics of these patients with substance use disorders. A total of 200 consented participants attending the accident and emergency unit of the hospital were recruited into the study consecutively over a 2-week period. They were screened for psychoactive substance use disorders (PSUD) with Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) and urine drug test (UDT) in the first phase and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) Instrument was used to make definitive diagnosis in the second stage. The result revealed that the prevalence of substance use disorders was 19.0% (13.0% for substance abuse and 6.0% for substance dependence). The study found that being male (p <0.001), widowed (p ≤0.012), and Christian (p ≤0.006) were associated with substance use disorders among patients presenting at accident and emergency units. The authors concluded that the prevalence of substance use disorders recorded in this study is higher compared to previous study conducted by Mustafa et al in Egypt with 11.5%.  The reason could be due to inclusion of biochemical test (urine drug test) in our screening, whereas only self-report questionnaires were used in their study.

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