Clinical Presentations and Predictors of In-Hospital Mortality in Illicit Drug Users in the New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) Endemic Era in Taiwan.

ABSTRACT: Predictors of mortality in illicit drug users involving Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) and multiple substances have not been elucidated. We aimed to define predictors of mortality in the NPS endemic era's illicit drug users to strengthen patient care in emergency treatment. This was a retrospective study. LC-MS/MS-confirmed positive illicit drug users who visited the emergency departments (ED) of six medical systems were enrolled. Demographic information, physical examinations, and laboratory data were abstracted for mortality analysis. There were 16 fatalities in 355 enrolled patients. The most frequently used illicit drugs were amphetamines, followed by opioids, cathinones, and ketamine. The most frequently detected cathinones among the 16 synthetic cathinones were eutylone, followe

SUBMITTER: Yeh HT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9317329 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature