Drug-related problems in London accident and emergency departments. A twelve month survey.
A prospective survey in seven hospitals revealed that the rate of drug-related attendances in the casualty population was 18.3 per 1000. 60% of these patients were under 30 years of age and 59% were female. At least 32% were dependent on drugs; and barbiturates, the drugs used most frequently in overdoses, had been obtained illegally in 77% of cases. During the course of the year there was a sharp decline in figures for barbiturates, explainable almost entirely in terms of fewer overdoses by drug-dependent individuals, but there was a steady rise in the use of minor tranquillisers, alcohol, and aspirin/codeine compounds.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001463:Barbiturates / Q000506:poisoning; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008131:London; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs; D012737:Sex Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*
D001463:Barbiturates; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs