title: Cocaine-related admissions to an intensive care unit: a five-year study of incidence and outcomes.
abstract: Cocaine misuse is increasing and it is evidently considered a relatively safe drug of abuse in Ireland. To address this perception, we reviewed the database of an 18-bed Dublin intensive care unit, covering all admissions from 2003 to 2007. We identified cocaine-related cases, measuring hospital mortality and long-term survival in early 2009. Cocaine-related admissions increased from around one annually in 2003-05 to 10 in 2007. Their median (IQR [range]) age was 25 (21-35 [17-47]) years and 78% were male. The median (IQR [range]) APACHE II score was 16 (11-27 [5-36]) and length of intensive care stay was 5 (3-9 [1-16]) days. Ten patients died during their hospital stay. A further five had died by the time of follow-up, a median of 24 months later. One was untraceable. Cocaine toxicity necessitating intensive care is increasingly common in Dublin. Hospital mortality in this series was 52%. These findings may help to inform public attitudes to cocaine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. sineadagalvin@yahoo.ie
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Galvin
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Marsh
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: O'Brien
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003042:Cocaine / Q000506:poisoning; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D007494:Ireland / Q000453:epidemiology; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D003042:Cocaine