@article{ref1,
title="Drugs involved in self-poisoning: verification by toxicological analysis",
journal="Medical journal of Australia",
year="1986",
author="Ray, J. E. and Reilly, D. K. and Day, R. O.",
volume="144",
number="9",
pages="455-457",
abstract="During a two-month prospective survey in a metropolitan teaching hospital's accident and emergency department, 239 consecutive drug-related attendances (excluding admissions to hospital that were primarily alcohol related) were identified. This represented 2.6% of total attendances. Of the 199 patients who presented to hospital with self-poisoning, a biological specimen was obtained from 158 (79%) for toxicological analysis, thus providing reliable data on the drugs that were involved in the overdoses. The most common drug groups that were identified were barbiturate (51% of cases) and benzodiazepine (49%) agents, alcohol with other drugs (44%), cannabinoids (32%) and opiate analgesic drugs (25%). Quinalbarbitone and amylobarbitone (Tuinal) and oxazepam were the most common &quot;single&quot; preparations. The use of cannabis and alcohol and the use of several drugs concurrently were more common than in previously reported surveys of self-poisoning. Discrepancies between the purported drug consumption and the toxicological results were frequent; complete agreement occurred in only 35% of the cases. The TOXI-LAB system was an adequate method for toxicological analysis. However, for epidemiological studies an additional back-up method is recommended to verify the presence of some drugs such as barbiturate and benzodiazepine agents.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0025-729X",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}