NCJ Number
121945
Date Published
1989
Length
39 pages
Annotation
This second annual report provides a statistical analysis of hospital emergency room visits for drug abuse in Rhode Island in 1988.
Abstract
The statutory requirements for the drug abuse reporting system are outlined, along with the methodology used to obtain data for the report. The most frequently abused drug requiring treatment at a hospital emergency room was alcohol, with 831 incidents among 1,341 reports or 61.97 percent of the cases. Cocaine ranked second, with 75 incidents or 5.59 percent of the total. Heroin abuse was mentioned 20 times; marijuana abuse 17 times. There were ten mentions of abuse of ibuprofen, an over-the-counter drug. Many of the abused drugs had been prescribed by physicians. Only four of the 97 abused drugs in the survey were illicit drugs. Patient demographics are detailed, with the widest age span identified for alcohol abusers: ages 12 to 85. Cocaine patients ranged in age from 15 to 43; heroin patients from 21 to 38; and patients abusing LSD from 14 to 31. More males than females abused all forms of drugs reported. The pharmacist's role in diminishing drug overdose and abuse is discussed.