The impact of pre-injury controlled substance use on clinical outcomes following trauma.

Background: A disproportionately high percentage of trauma patients use controlled substances, and they often co-ingest multiple drugs. Previous studies have evaluated the effect of individual drugs on clinical outcomes following trauma. However, the impact of all drugs included in a comprehensive screening panel has not yet been compared in a single cohort of patients. Methods: All trauma patients who underwent urine drug screens following admission to the LAC+USC Medical Center (01/2008-06/2015) were identified retrospectively. Univariable and multivariable regression analyses determined the significance of all drugs tested in the hospital's standard toxicology screen (amphetamine, barbiturate, benzodiazepine, cocaine, opiate, phencyclidine) on clinical outcomes. Results: A total of 10,288 patients who underwent admission toxicology screening were identified. While 5,661 patients had completely negative screens, 3,370 patients tested positive for only one drug and 1,257 patients tested for multiple drugs. Univariable analysis indicated that patients who tested positive for multiple drugs had higher rates of operative intervention (p

from Emergency Medicine via xlomafota13 on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2b4217P