Prevalence and correlates of cannabis poisoning diagnosis in a national emergency department sample

• Published in: Drug and alcohol dependence Vol. 204; p. 107564
• Main Authors: Salas-Wright, Christopher P., Carbone, Jason T., Holzer, Katherine J., Vaughn, Michael G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lausanne Elsevier B.V 01.11.2019; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Accidental poisoning; Amphetamines; Benzodiazepines; Cannabis; City centres; Classification; Cocaine; Diagnostic systems; Disorders; Drug use; Economic hardship; Emergency care; Emergency medical care; Emergency medical services; Emergency services; Health care; Health problems; Heroin; High risk; Marijuana; Medical diagnosis; Medical screening; Mental disorders; Mental health; Patient admissions; Poisoning; Psychological assessment; Risk groups; Sociodemographics; Subgroups; Treatment needs; Emergency care; Marijuana; Cannabis; Poisoning; Drug use; Mental health
• ISSN: 0376-8716; 1879-0046
• DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.107564

•Sample of 33 million observations from national study of emergency departments (ED).•The rate of cannabis poisoning (CP) ED admissions is 6 in every 100,000 US residents.•CP Admission is more common among youth, males, and persons in central cities.•Individuals with CP admission are more likely to have mental health disorder.•CP admission-mental disorder link more pronounced among women than men. One of the primary cannabis-related reasons individuals seek emergency medical care is accidental cannabis poisoning. However, our understanding of the incidence and characteristics of those who receive emergency medical care due to cannabis poisoning remains limited. We address this gap by examining up-to-date information from a national study of emergency department (ED) data. The data source used for this study is the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS). An International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10-CM) diagnostic code was used to identify accidental poisoning by cannabis (T40.7 × 1A) as specified by healthcare providers. Logistic regression was employed to examine the relationship between ED admission for cannabis poisoning, sociodemographic factors, and mental health disorders. In 2016, an estimated 16,884 individuals were admitted into EDs in the United States due to cannabis poisoning, representing 0.014% of the total ED visits for individuals ages 12 and older. Individuals who sought care for cannabis poisoning were more likely to be young, male, uninsured, experience economic hardship, reside in urban central cities, and experience mental health disorders as compared to individuals admitted for other causes. Among cases that included the cannabis-poisoning code, many also had codes for accidental poisoning due to other substances such as heroin (4.7%), amphetamine (10.8%), cocaine (12.9%), and benzodiazepine (21.3%). Despite the limitations of ICD-10 data, findings provide new evidence suggesting that practitioners be attuned to the prevention and treatment needs of high-risk subgroups, and that screening for mental health problems should be standard practice for individuals diagnosed with cannabis poisoning.