Evaluation of a brief intervention to reduce the negative consequences of drug misuse among adult emergency department patients.
OBJECTIVE
Determine if a brief intervention (BI) reduces the negative consequences of drug use/misuse among adult emergency department (ED) patients, and identify patients more likely to benefit from the BI.


METHODS
This randomized, controlled trial enrolled 1026 18-64 year-old ED patients whose drug misuse indicated a needed for a BI. Differences in total Inventory of Drug Use Consequences (InDUC) scores between the treatment (BI) and control arms (no BI) were assessed every 90 days over a one-year period. Regression models were constructed to identify demographic and clinical factors associated with greater reductions in total InDUC scores.


RESULTS
Although total InDUC scores decreased for both the treatment and control arms, there were no differences in scores between the treatment and the control arms at baseline at each follow-up. In the regression analyses, participants who were not using drugs or received drug treatment in the past 90 days generally had lower InDUC scores at each follow-up.


CONCLUSIONS
Although negative consequences decreased in both study arms over time, receiving a BI did not lead to a greater reduction in the negative consequences of drug misuse than not receiving a BI. Of importance in the design of future ED drug misuse interventions, participants who were successful in stopping their drug misuse or receiving drug treatment did show fewer negative consequences of drug use/misuse.
Department of Biostatistics, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, USA.
Wentao
W
Guan
Department of Biostatistics, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, USA.
Tao
T
Liu
Department of Emergency Medicine, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
Janette R
JR
Baird
Department of Emergency Medicine, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, USA. Electronic address: rmerchant@lifespan.org.
Roland C
RC
Merchant
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D055030:Drug Users; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
Adult; Emergency medical services/methods; Emergency service; Motivational interviewing; Substance-related disorders/therapy; Treatment outcome