TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2013//
TI  - Characteristics of patients hospitalized at an intensive care unit due to drug abuse
JO  - Investigación y educación en enfermería
A1  - Antunes, Flávia
A1  - Oliveira, Magda Lúcia Félix de
SP  - 201
EP  - 209
VL  - 31
IS  - 2
N2  - OBJECTIVE. To characterize the clinical and demographic profile of patients hospitalized due to drug intoxication at an intensive care unit (ICU) of a teaching hospital between 2004 and 2010. <br><br>METHODology. In this descriptive study, information was collected from the hospitalized patients, as informed by a Toxicology Care Center (CAT) in Paraná (Brazil). The clinical files were checked and information was collected about age, gender, toxic agents and intoxication circumstances, comorbidities and clinical outcomes. <br><br>RESULTS. Sixty-two patients were included in the study, with a mean age of 58 years and 77% male. Alcohol was the substance related to most hospitalizations (77%), followed by psychoactive drugs (14%) and marihuana and crack (5% each). The main comorbidities were bronchopneumonia due to aspiration (37%), alcohol-related liver cirrhosis (24%) and traumatic brain injury (19%). The most frequent intoxication circumstances were chronic abuse (79%), attemptive suicide (19%) and acute abuse (4.9%). Thirty-nine percent of the patients died during hospitalization. <br><br>CONCLUSION. The results show a concerning reality, as most of the patients are men of economically active age, who were intoxicated by a legal substance like alcohol, with a relevant number of deaths. Nurses need to pay particular attention to this health problem, in the context of which they play a fundamental role as educators with a view to the encouragement of healthy lifestyles.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0120-5307
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -