title: Drug-related death--an update.
abstract: Some epidemiological, morphological and toxicological aspects from a continuous prospective study of drug-related fatalities in Hamburg are described. The lethal risk for intravenous drug addicts (IVDA) has increased (1990: n = 136 drug-related fatalities in Hamburg; 1991: n = 184). Infectious diseases are common. From the epidemiological point of view the HIV-1 prevalence is decreasing; hepatitis C turned out to be a serious medical problem for IVDA. The fatal course of the addiction is mostly caused by heroin overdosage (sometimes in combination with ethyl-alcohol, benzodiazepines and barbiturates); about 40% of the fatalities were alcoholized (20% with a blood alcohol concentration of more than 1%).
authors.affiliation: Institut für Rechtszmedizin, Universität Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Püschel
mesh_terms: D000437:Alcoholism / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002423:Cause of Death; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D015528:HIV Seroprevalence; D015497:HIV-1; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control; D014505:Urban Population