1. Gender differences in clinical characteristics of emergency department patients involving illicit drugs use with analytical confirmation.
- Author
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Weng, Te- I., Chen, Lian-Yu, Chen, Hsien-Yi, Yu, Jiun-Hao, Su, Yu-Jang, Liu, Sung-Wei, Tracy, Derek K., Chen, Yen-Chia, Lin, Chih-Chuan, and Fang, Cheng-Chung
- Subjects
GENDER differences (Psychology) ,DRUG abuse ,HIV infections ,HOSPITAL emergency services ,INTENSIVE care units - Abstract
Background: To compare gender differences in socio-demographics, clinical manifestations, and laboratory test results of individuals who visited emergency departments (EDs) involving drug use.Methods: We retrospectively collected the data from 10 hospitals in Taiwan on drug-related ED visits from May 2017 to December 2020. We then examined the gender differences in their socio-demographics, clinical manifestations, urine toxicological results, and other laboratory tests results using chi-square or multivariable logistic regression.Results: Among individuals with drug-related ED visits, there were 546 (73.7%) men and 195 (26.3%) women. The most commonly used drugs were meth/amphetamine, followed by synthetic cathinones, and ketamine and its analogs. Compared to men, women were younger (32.03 ± 10.86 vs. 36.51 ± 10.84 years, p < 0.001) and more likely to use new psychoactive substances (NPS) (p = 0.011). Men were more likely to have human immunodeficiency virus infection (p < 0.001), whereas women were more likely to report psychiatric comorbidities (p = 0.003). Women were less likely to have aggressive behaviors (odds ratio (OR): 0.59, 95% CI: 0.39-0.88). After adjusting for socio-demographics and drug types, women were still less likely to have aggressive behaviors than men (adjusted OR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.38-0.93). The likelihood of rhabdomyolysis and intensive care unit admission was higher in men (p < 0.001).Conclusion: We found considerable gender differences in clinical characteristics among ED-visiting drug users, which could offer valuable information for the future development of more tailored gender-specific drug prevention and treatment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2022
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