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Adolescent emergency department presentations with alcohol‐ or other drug‐related problems in Perth, Western Australia
Author(s) -
Hulse Gary K.,
Robertson Suzanne I.,
Tait Robert J.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0965-2140
DOI - 10.1046/j.1360-0443.2001.967105915.x
Subject(s) - medicine , interquartile range , emergency department , medical prescription , heroin , poison control , injury prevention , psychological intervention , suicide prevention , occupational safety and health , drug , pediatrics , emergency medicine , psychiatry , pharmacology , pathology
Aims . To identify the morbidity, type of substance used and the pattern of presentation by adolescents with problems related to alcohol or other drug (AOD) use. Design . A 4‐week retrospective review of hospital records. Setting . Four metropolitan hospitals in Perth, Australia. Participants . There were 1064 presentations by people aged 12‐19 years of which 160 (15%) were related to AOD use. The median age of the AOD cases was 17 (interquartile range 16‐19) of whom 97 (61%) were male and 19 (12%) were Indigenous Australians. Findings . Alcohol was the most frequent precursor to presentation (66, 41%) followed by heroin (24, 15%) and prescription/over‐the‐counter drugs (24, 15%). Injury was the most common diagnosis at presentation (50, 31%), followed by overdose/drug use (47, 29%). A diagnosis of injury was significantly more likely following the use of alcohol than other categories of substances (χ 2 = 42.07, df = 3, p < 0.001). Deliberate self‐harm (DSH) occurred in more female than male cases (χ 2 = 7.4, df = 1, p < 0.01). Presentations were more frequent over the weekend (102, 64%) than on weekdays, and the length of stay was significantly shorter for weekend cases (Mann‐Whitney U 2132, p < 0.05). Conclusions . Given the small window of opportunity to provide AOD treatment to youth following hospital presentation, a number of suggestions are made. From a harm‐minimization perspective the focus of interventions should be on alcohol use by male youth and DSH associated with prescription/over‐the‐counter drug use by female adolescents. In addition, Indigenous youth are over‐represented in hospital presentations, but there is currently a lack of evaluated interventions designed for them.