Acute neurological consequences of novel psychoactive substance use: a retrospective review in a large UK hospital
Autor: | Charles Kelleher, Melissa Maguire, Jeremy Cosgrove, Matthew Tanti, Rebekah Jones |
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Rok vydání: | 2021 |
Předmět: |
Drug
Male medicine.medical_specialty Neurology Referral Substance-Related Disorders media_common.quotation_subject Psychoactive substance 030204 cardiovascular system & hematology 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Medicine Humans 030212 general & internal medicine media_common Retrospective Studies Retrospective review Psychotropic Drugs business.industry Illicit Drugs Addiction Public health General Medicine Emergency department Hospitals United Kingdom Emergency medicine business |
Zdroj: | Clinical medicine (London, England). 21(3) |
ISSN: | 1473-4893 |
Popis: | Background Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) are a growing public health concern. We aimed to identify the acute neurological consequences of NPS. Method We performed a retrospective case-note review of patients who presented to the emergency department after taking NPS. Results We identified 237 admissions from 190 patients, mostly young men. There were high rates of psychiatric comorbidity (43%), unemployment (39%), homelessness (24%) and incarceration (17%). Most reported use of synthetic cannabinoids (SC; 91%). Some took synthetic cathinones (SCath; 7%) or nitrous oxide (NOS; 2%). SC caused impaired consciousness (61%) and seizures (16%). SCath users presented with psychiatric disturbance or seizures (55%). Most patients were managed conservatively (67%) and a small proportion (14%) were referred to drug or psychology services. Conclusions NPS users represent a vulnerable group in society. Certain clinical features may suggest the type of NPS used. Most patients require supportive management and onward referral to drug addiction services is recommended. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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