Table 2.
Presenting concerns, clinical management, and disposition of national emergency department visits related to cocaine, psychostimulant, or opioid use, 2008–2018
| Weighted % (95% CI) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cocaine-related visits (n = 1,406,000) |
Psychostimulant-related visits (n = 1,590,000) |
Opioid-related visits (n = 4,125,000) |
|
| Chief presenting concern(s) | |||
| Psychiatric | 31 (24, 38) | 50 (42, 58) | 25 (21, 30) |
| Neurologic | 7 (4, 11) | 7 (4, 12) | 7 (4, 10) |
| Cardiopulmonary | 33 (26, 41) | 23 (17, 31) | 12 (10, 16) |
| Drug toxicity/withdrawal | 36 (30, 43) | 32 (25, 40) | 49 (43, 54) |
| Co-occurring Drug Related Diagnoses | |||
| Alcohol-related diagnosis | 19 (15, 25) | 6 (4, 10) | 7 (5, 9) |
| Other drug-related diagnosis | 9 (6, 13) | 9 (6, 14) | 9 (7, 12) |
| Diagnostic testing | |||
| Blood alcohol concentration | 20 (15, 27) | 20 (14, 29) | 16 (12, 19) |
| Cardiac monitoring | 24 (18, 32) | 13 (8, 20) | 12 (9, 16) |
| Cardiac biomarkers | 23 (16, 32) | 11 (7, 16) | 7 (5, 9) |
| Electrocardiogram | 51 (43, 59) | 34 (27, 41) | 29 (24, 33) |
| Urine toxicology | 56 (47, 64) | 42 (34, 51) | 35 (30, 41) |
| Any imaging | 54 (46, 61) | 35 (27, 44) | 35 (30, 41) |
| Any X-ray | 44 (37, 52) | 28 (21, 37) | 26 (20, 31) |
| Any CT Scan | 17 (12, 23) | 14 (8, 21) | 13 (10, 17) |
| Administered medications | |||
| Atypical antipsychotics | 6 (4, 11) | 13 (8, 20) | 2 (1, 3) |
| Benzodiazepines | 19 (14, 25) | 33 (26, 42) | 15 (12, 19) |
| Naloxone | – | – | 13 (10, 17) |
| Opioids | 17 (11, 24) | 9 (4, 17) | 14 (11, 18) |
| Disposition | |||
| Treat and release | 58 (51, 65) | 63 (55, 70) | 68 (63, 72) |
| Left before treatment complete | 3 (1, 5) | 2 (1, 6) | 3 (2, 6) |
| Transferred to psychiatric facility | 6 (3, 13) | 10 (6, 17) | 5 (3, 7) |
| Admitted | 16 (12, 22) | 9 (6, 13) | 16 (13, 20) |
Source: National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Cell sizes with < 30 unweighted visits or > 30% relative standard error not included. Visits were mutually exclusive for drug type, as visits associated with two or more drug-categories were excluded. Chief presenting concerns defined using top three “reason for visit” codes. Visits could contribute to more than one category of chief presenting concerns