title: Epidemiology of acute drug intoxications: patient characteristics, drugs, and medical complications.
abstract: Of 415 adult patients treated for acute drug intoxications in a university hospital emergency room, 64 (15.4%) required admission to the medical service for intensive care. A significantly larger proportion of patients over 40 years of age required hospitalization. Forty-eight of the episodes requiring hospitalization were identified as intentional drug intoxication. Women were admitted in 41 (64.0%) instances while men were admitted on 23 (36.0%) occasions. Non-barbiturate depressants, barbiturates, tranquilizers, and antidepressants were the drug classes most commonly incriminated. Almost one-half of all patients, however, had taken multiple drugs. Medical complications in these 64 patients included coma in 43 (67.2%), acute hypertension or hypotension in 21 (32.8%), and pneumonia in 16 (25%). Complications occurring less frequently were cardiac arrest in three (4.7%), anemia in two (3.2%), neuropathies, soft tissue necrosis, quadraplegia, renal failure, bullous dermatitis, and fetal death in one patient each. Two (3.2%) patients died as a result of drug ingestions. Forty per cent of patients had experienced previous episodes of acute drug intoxication.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications; D001463:Barbiturates / Q000506:poisoning; D003128:Coma / Q000139:chemically induced; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D003864:Depression, Chemical; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D004984:Ethchlorvynol / Q000506:poisoning; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000139:chemically induced; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D007501:Iron / Q000506:poisoning; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D044469:Racial Groups; D012119:Respiration / Q000187:drug effects; D013405:Suicide
chemical_list: D001463:Barbiturates; D004984:Ethchlorvynol; D007501:Iron