Cocaine-related medical and trauma problems: a consecutive series of 743 patients from a multicentre study in Italy.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

The purpose of this retrospective study was to describe the spectrum of medical and trauma complications associated with self-reported cocaine use.

METHODS:

Patient databases of 23 emergency departments were searched for consultations related to cocaine use between January 2007 and December 2008.

RESULTS:

The population included 569 men (84.4%) and 105 women (15.6%): 505 (74.9%) patients were nondependent cocaine users and 169 (25.1%) were dependent cocaine users. The majority of patients (63.8%) used other drugs in combination with cocaine. Psychiatric symptoms were most frequently reported (60.9%), followed by cardiopulmonary (38.2%), gastrointestinal (22.5%), neurological (20.8%) and constitutional (17.2%) symptoms. Of psychiatric complaints, anxiety was the most common (31.5%). Sex-adjusted and age-adjusted odds ratio (OR) showed that palpitations were associated within 12 h of cocaine use [OR 2.05; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.12-3.76], and psychotic symptoms (OR 3.05; 95% CI: 1.02-9.18) and hallucinations (OR 7.50; 95% CI: 1.12-50.31) were associated within more than 12 h of the use of cocaine. In a comparison of dependent and nondependent cocaine users, after adjusting for age and sex, cardiopulmonary symptoms (OR 1.56; 95% CI: 1.08-2.24) and paranoia (OR 2.14; 95% CI: 1.08-4.24) were associated with nondependent use of cocaine, and lethargy (OR 7.14; 95% CI: 1.55-35.56) was associated with dependent use of cocaine. The primary cause of trauma was unintentional injuries (32.4%). Sex-adjusted and age-adjusted OR showed a major risk for unintentional injuries with nondependent use of cocaine (OR 6.17; 95% CI: 1.38-42.29).

CONCLUSIONS:

The study shows that cocaine users experience diverse symptoms and may present with a wide range of physical findings.

• Authors: Raimondo Pavarin, Fabio Lugoboni, Sophie Mathewson, Anna Maria Ferrari, Giordano Guizzardi, Gianluca Quaglio
• Journal: European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine (Eur J Emerg Med) Vol. 18 Issue 4 Pg. 208-14 (Aug 2011) ISSN: 1473-5695 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 21285880 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Multicenter Study)

Topics

• Adolescent
• Adult
• Cocaine-Related Disorders (epidemiology)
• Emergencies
• Female
• Hospital Records
• Humans
• Italy (epidemiology)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Odds Ratio
• Retrospective Studies
• Wounds and Injuries (epidemiology)
• Young Adult