ACUTE OPIATE OVERDOSE - CHARACTERISTICS OF 190 CONSECUTIVE CASES

Aims. To characterize the population of drug users consulting the Emer gency Room (ER) of a university hospital with acute opiate overdose (A OO) and to assess rate of referral to specialized treatment programme. Design. Survey of a 12-month sample of AOO patients. Measurements. Me dical and psychosocial features of the drug users, details of emergenc y treatment and referral by a mobile resuscitation ream (SMUR) and the ER of our hospital (CHUV-Lausanne, Switzerland). In addition fatal AO O cases were collected by the Institute of Forensic Medicine (IFM) dur ing the same period. Findings. One hundred and eighty-four cases of AO O (134 patients) were treated. The files of the IFM detailed six addit ional deceased cases. This population of drug users was characterized by an over-representation of men (73%), by young age (27.4 years), by a high rate of multi-drugs use (90%) and by a high rate of multiple pr evious overdoses (2.6). Average length of stay was 20.1 hours but 41% of cases stayed less than 8 hours. Only one patient was readmitted wit hin an 8-hour period. When discharged, 78% returned home. Unexpectedly , 67% of patients were not referred to any therapeutic programme for d rug addiction. Conclusion. This study shows the low mortality of AOO w hen treated but also demonstrates the need to improve psychosocial eva luation and referral of drug addicts admitted with AOO.