Evaluation of Acute Drug Intoxications and Drug Use in the Intensive Care Unit: A Retrospective, Single-Center Analysis

Abstract

Aim: Drug intoxications and drug uses are public health problems and an important reason for patient admission to emergency departments and intensive care units (ICU).This study aims to evaluate the demographic and clinical data of acute drug intoxications and drug use. Methods: Patients followed up in the ICU for acute drug intoxications and drug use between January 2014 and January 2020 were evaluated retrospectively. Results: A total of 194 patients were included in the study, including 168 drug intoxication and 26 drug use. While 59.5% of drug intoxications were female, the mean age was 27.8±8.3 years, 92.3% of drug use was male, and the mean age was 26.5±3.8 years. While the mean duration of stay in the ICU was 2.3±1.2 days for drug intoxications, it was 2.8±1.9 days for drug use. The highest rate of drug intoxication was between the ages of 17-30, and 98.8% of them were suicidal. Most of the intoxications (61.9%) occurred with multiple drugs, most commonly with analgesics (40.4%) and antidepressants (34.5%). The mortality rate of drug intoxication was 0.6%, and the mortality rate of drug users was 11.5%. While male gender and mechanical ventilation (Mv) requirement were significantly higher in drug use, Glasgow coma scale (GCS) scores at discharge and hospitalization were significantly lower (p