Thursday, March 28, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Thursday, December 20, 2018
UH Study: Tweekers 15.1% of Emergency Room Traffic at Hawaii Hospital
By News Release @ 2:17 PM :: 5864 Views :: Hawaii Statistics, Health Care, Drugs

Amphetamine users require more hospital resources, UH study

From UH News Dec 19, 2018

Psychiatry faculty at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) recently published findings on the effect of methamphetamine use on emergency department resources. Amphetamine-positive patients spent more time per visit on average in the emergency department and were more likely to require medication and physical restraints, compared to amphetamine-negative patients.

The researchers from JABSOM examined visits from 2007 to 2011 to an emergency room of a single Honolulu hospital. Overall, out of 16,018 patients, 15.1 percent of the drug-screened patients tested positive for amphetamines over the study period.

The rate of patients who tested positive for amphetamine was measured and broken down by year. Researchers measured how long the person was treated in the emergency room, whether medication or physical restraints were needed for patient and staff safety, and how many of the patients required psychiatric hospitalization.

The study by Brian Schultz, Brett Lu, Jane Onoye and Tara Toohey was published in the December issue of Hawaiʻi Journal of Medicine and Public Health.

The researchers note however, that the toxicology screening available at the medical center was limited—amphetamine-positive screens were used as a proxy for methamphetamine use. The study assumes that a significant majority of patients who screened positive for amphetamines had been using methamphetamine, but acknowledges there were likely patients counted among those who tested positive for amphetamines who were not using methamphetamine.

Also, a positive drug screen indicates exposure to the drug at some time over the prior three days, but not necessarily that the patient was intoxicated at the time he or she arrived at the emergency room, or that going to the ER was related to methamphetamine use.

The authors stress the amphetamine positive patients in the study likely comprised a combination of acutely intoxicated patients, patients in withdrawal, patients without residual symptoms and patients not using methamphetamines.

For the full story go to JABSOM website.  

SA: Amphetamine-­positive patients were less likely to undergo psychiatric hospitalization (19 percent) than those who tested negative (37 percent).

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT