@article{ref1,
title="Epidemiology of acute drug intoxications: patient characteristics, drugs, and medical complications",
journal="Clinical toxicology (Dekker)",
year="1974",
author="Stewart, R. B. and Forgnone, M. and May, F. E. and Forbes, J. and Cluff, L. E.",
volume="7",
number="5",
pages="513-530",
abstract="Of 415 adult patients treated for acute drug intoxications in a university hospital emergency room, 64 (15.4%) required admission to the medical service for intensive care. A significantly larger proportion of patients over 40 years of age required hospitalization. Forty-eight of the episodes requiring hospitalization were identified as intentional drug intoxication. Women were admitted in 41 (64.0%) instances while men were admitted on 23 (36.0%) occasions. Non-barbiturate depressants, barbiturates, tranquilizers, and antidepressants were the drug classes most commonly incriminated. Almost one-half of all patients, however, had taken multiple drugs. Medical complications in these 64 patients included coma in 43 (67.2%), acute hypertension or hypotension in 21 (32.8%), and pneumonia in 16 (25%). Complications occurring less frequently were cardiac arrest in three (4.7%), anemia in two (3.2%), neuropathies, soft tissue necrosis, quadraplegia, renal failure, bullous dermatitis, and fetal death in one patient each. Two (3.2%) patients died as a result of drug ingestions. Forty per cent of patients had experienced previous episodes of acute drug intoxication.<p /><p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0009-9309",
doi="10.3109/15563657408988024",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/15563657408988024"
}