Articles: opioid.
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Observational Study
Prevalence of use and impairment from drugs and alcohol among trauma patients: A national prospective observational study.
Being under the influence of psychoactive substances increases the risk of involvement in and dying from a traumatic event. The study is a prospective population-based observational study that aims to determine the prevalence of use and likely impairment from psychoactive substances among patients with suspected severe traumatic injury. ⋯ The results revealed psychoactive substances in 35 % of trauma admissions, 80 % of which were likely impaired at the time of traumatic injury. A combination of several psychoactive substances was common, and younger males and patients with violence-related injuries were most often impaired. Injury prevention strategies should focus on high-risk groups and involve the prescription of controlled substances. We should consider toxicological screening in trauma admissions and incorporation of toxicological data into trauma registries.
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Our objective was to explore evolving trends in US drug overdose mortality, overall and by age, sex, race, urbanization, and geography from 1999-2020. ⋯ Drug overdoses in the United States from 1999-2020 increased 4.3-fold, with the highest increase in White and Native American or Alaskan Native populations, and Midwest and non-metro areas. The data create preventive and therapeutic challenges, including restrictions on pharmaceutical industries and enhanced efforts by health care providers in safer prescribing. Addiction care should be integrated into all clinical practices, regardless of specialty, and into undergraduate, graduate, and continuing medical education. Targeted interventions are needed to adequately assess patients and provide care. Analytic studies designed a priori are necessary to test hypotheses formulated from these data.