title: Referral patterns and clinical characteristics of subjects referred to substance abuse clinic of a regional hospital in Hong Kong.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the clinical characteristics of subjects referred to the Substance Abuse Clinic of the Prince of Wales Hospital between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2009 in Hong Kong.
  
  
  METHODS
  A chart review of 131 subjects referred to the Substance Abuse Clinic during the study period was carried out. Psychiatric diagnoses were made by a psychiatrist, according to the 10th edition of the International Classification of Diseases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Social workers were increasingly a main source of referrals, accounting for 34% of referrals during the entire study period (and 43% in 2009). Another important referral source was the Hospital Authority system in Hong Kong, which accounted for 38% of referrals over the 3-year study period. Ketamine, methamphetamine, and cough mixtures were the most common drugs of primary misuse, the proportion of users being 34%, 24% and 12%, respectively. In these referals, the most common psychiatric diagnosis was substance-induced psychotic disorder, followed by depressive disorder, made in 44% and 22% of the subjects, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Among Hong Kong substance abusers, psychotic and depressive disorders are common, and ketamine is the most commonly misused drug.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Ungvari
authors.forename: W K
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D055815:Young Adult