• Nicholas Trasolini, Hyunwoo Kang, John Carney, Alexis Rounds, Adam Murrietta, and Geoffrey S Marecek.
• From the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA.
• J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 2020 Jan 1; 28 (1): e28-e33.

IntroductionWe sought to characterize the prevalence of methamphetamine (MA) abuse and associated orthopaedic injury patterns at our level 1 trauma center.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective review of all orthopaedic consults for the year 2016. Patients were classified as MA users based on urine toxicology results and social history.ResultsThe prevalence of MA use was 10.0%. MA users were more likely to present with hand lacerations and other infections (P < 0.05 for all). Regarding the mechanism of injury, MA users were more likely to be involved in automobile versus pedestrian, automobile versus bicycle, ballistic, knife, closed fist, other assault/altercation, and animal bite injuries (P < 0.05 for all).DiscussionMA use is prevalent at our level 1 trauma center. The prevalence and injury patterns of MA abuse warrant deeper study into the effects of this drug on orthopaedic outcomes.Level Of EvidenceLevel III.

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