title: Urine screening for abused drugs in new admissions to a VA hospital.
abstract: The urine samples from two groups of Veteran's Administration patients newly admitted to general psychiatry units were screened in 1985 and in 1987-88 for abused drugs. The results were compared with urine samples from controls with similar age distributions admitted to an alcohol and drug abuse unit or to medical-surgical units. About 40% of all newly admitted patients were positive for one or more controlled drugs, but there were no significant differences among patient groups in the percentage of urine samples positive for these drugs. Marijuana and benzodiazepines were detected frequently in all patient groups and often in combination, although opiates also were frequently detected in the urine samples from the medical-surgical patients. There was a clear decrease in drug-positive samples with age in all patient groups, much of which could be accounted for by decreased marijuana detection.
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: McMillan
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Newton
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Cannon
authors.forename: W S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Metzer
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Paige
authors.forename: B N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Summers
authors.forename: E P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Fody
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006787:Hospitals, Veterans; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011567:Psychiatric Department, Hospital; D012307:Risk Factors; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000652:urine*; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*
chemical_list: D013287:Illicit Drugs