The prevalence of drugs in motor vehicle accidents and traffic violations in Shanghai and neighboring cities.
The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of psychoactive drug use among motor vehicle drivers in Shanghai and its neighboring cities. We selected 10,002 drivers involved in a traffic accident or violation between 2007 and 2008 in Shanghai, Suzhou and Wuxi. We checked for the presence of psychoactive drugs from blood samples using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS). Of the 10,002 drivers, 10.5% tested positive for drugs (excluding alcohol). Cold medicines were the most frequently detected drugs including chlorpheniramine (4.78%), pseudoephedrine (2.15%) and paracetamol (1.32%). The use of multiple cold medicines was common. Illegal drugs such as methamphetamine (0.15%), ketamine (0.03%) and MDMA (0.01%) were also detected. The prevalence of psychoactive drugs among drivers involved in traffic accidents or violations in Shanghai and its neighboring cities was lower compared to previous reports in Europe. Furthermore, cannabis--which has been reported to be the most widely used psychoactive drug after alcohol--was not commonly encountered among Shanghai drivers.
Zhuo
Xianyi
X
Department of Forensic Toxicology, Institute of Forensic Science, Ministry of Justice, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Guangfu Xi Road 1347, Shanghai 200063, PR China. zhuoxianyi126@126.com
Cang
Yong
Y
Yan
Hui
H
Bu
Jun
J
Shen
Baohua
B
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002681:China; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D055553:Prescription Drugs; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
D013287:Illicit Drugs; D055553:Prescription Drugs; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs