Cocaine abuse among patients: a study at the Charleston Area Medical Center

Cocaine, an addictive central nervous system stimulant that can be inhaled, intravenously injected or smoked, is the second most commonly abused illicit drug in the United States. Its use is associated with numerous medical problems, as well as psychiatric disorders. This study 1) describes the clinical and demographic features of adult patients presenting with positive cocaine screens at Charleston Area Medical Center (CAMC) Emergency Room in 2006; 2) reports the percentage of those patients who volunteered their drug- use information; 3) reports the percentage of trauma patients who tested positive for cocaine use; 4) identifies other illicit drugs patients use with cocaine; and, how often these patients have psychiatric diagnoses.

In this study, the mean age of users was 35 years with a range of 18-57 years, many of whom had multiple visits to the hospital in the same year. Among the patients in this study, 24% had a history of depression and 15% had a history of bipolar disorder. Of the patients that tested positive for cocaine use, only 42% volunteered their drug-use history. The majority were found to have concurrent illicit drug use. The most common reasons for patients in this study to seek medical treatment were psychiatric and drug problems as opposed to medical reasons.