Abstract:
Abstract
Substance
abuse
and
dependence
are
frequently
encountered
in
emergency
units
of
our
hospitals,
and
it
accounts
for
major
health
care
problems
frequently
leading
to
accident
and
emergency
department
admission,
though
it
is
often
missed
or
not
diagnosed.
The
aim
of
this
study
was
to
estimate
the
prevalence
of
drug
abuse
and
dependence
among
patients
attending
Accident
and
Emergency
Hospitals
and
to
determine
the
sociodemographic
characteristics
of
these
patients
with
substance
use
disorders.
A
total
of
200
consented
participants
attending
the
accident
and
emergency
unit
of
the
hospital
were
recruited
into
the
study
consecutively
over
a
2
-
week
period.
They
were
screened
for
psychoactive
substance
use
disorders
(PSUD)
with
Alcohol,
Smoking
and
Substance
Involvement
Screening
Test
(ASSIST)
and
urine
drug
test
(UDT)
in
the
first
phase
and
the
Mini
International
Neuropsychiatric
Interview
(MINI)
Instrument
was
used
to
make
definitive
diagnosis
in
the
second
stage.
The
result
revealed
that
the
prevalence
of
substance
use
disorders
was
19.0%
(13.0%
for
substance
abuse
and
6
.0%
for
substance
dependence).
The
study
found
that
being
male
(p
<0.001),
widowed
(p
≤0.012),
and
Christian
(p
≤0.006)
were
associated
with
substance
use
disorders
among
patients
presenting
at
accident
and
emergency
units.
The
authors
concluded
that
the
prevalence
of
substance
use
disorders
recorded
in
this
study
is
higher
compared
to
previous
study
conducted
by
Mustafa
et
al
in
Egypt
with
11.5%.
The
reason
could
be
due
to
inclusion
of
biochemical
test
(urine
drug
test)
in
our
screening,
whereas
only
self
-
report
questionnaires
were
used
in
their
study
