[Drug abuse among patients in the somatic hospital system]

The annual number of registered drug abusers in The Danish National Patient Register has been stable as to age and gender in the period of investigation. The patients registered as drug abusers are often polydrug abusers or abusers of illegal drugs. A large proportion of the patients have previously been admitted to a psychiatric department. The ten most common comorbid diseases found among registered drug abusers are all associated to drug abuse. Older drug abusers and abusers with a comorbid disease utilize more bed days than other groups of drug abusers. The number of registrations of abuse at re-admission of the patients within a period of three years after their first drug abuse diagnosis is considerably lower than expected because the abuse has ceased. It is absolutely possible that drug abuse is underdiagnosed among somatic patients in general hospitals in Denmark.