TY  - JOUR
PY  - 1992//
TI  - Periodicity of presentations of drugs of abuse and overdose in an emergency department
JO  - Journal of toxicology - clinical toxicology
A1  - Raymond, R. C.
A1  - Warren, Michelle
A1  - Morris, R. W.
A1  - Leikin, J. B.
SP  - 467
EP  - 478
VL  - 30
IS  - 3
N2  - In order to determine whether temporal factors impact on drugs of abuse and overdose presentations to an urban emergency department, we studied the records of 630 consecutive drug overdose presentations over a period from October 1987 to March 1990. Particular note was made of the time of day of presentation along with the nature of the drug(s) ingested. A significant curve (p less than 0.0005) was obtained for a 24 h period with a peak time of presentation being 6:32 pm (95% confidence interval of 1 h 54 min). Significant periodic rhythms were noted for cocaine, opiates, alcohol, analgesics, marijuana, and benzodiazepines. A 4.8 h periodic rhythm was demonstrated for cocaine, marijuana and alcohol-in-combination. We conclude that the emergency department should be most prepared to treat the drug overdose patient in the early evening and emergency department staffing should reflect this peak in demand.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0731-3810
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -