Sociodemographic and Toxico-clinical Characteristics of Patients with Opioid/Stimulant Poisoning

This study aimed to examine the toxico-clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of patients who have experienced poisoning from common illicit drugs, such as opioids and stimulants.

This retrospective chart review study was conducted on cases of opioid and stimulant poisoning who were admitted to the referral poisoning emergency center in the central part of Iran, Isfahan, from January 2019 to January 2020. The toxico-clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of patients were evaluated.

Data obtained from 496 patients were analyzed. Poisoning with opioids and stimulants accounted for 67.13% and 7.86% of cases, respectively. Most of the patients in both the opioid and stimulant groups were male. The most common route of poisoning was ingestion (82%) for opioids and inhalation (43.6%) for stimulants. Suicide (40.2%) was common in patients with opioid poisoning, whereas abuse (28.2%) was more commonly observed in stimulant poisoning. There were no significant differences regarding marital status, occupation, education, criminal convictions, history of somatic diseases, and psychiatric diseases between patients with opioid and stimulant poisoning. The mortality rate in opioid poisoning was 0.9%, whereas no deaths were reported in patients with stimulant poisoning. Binary regression analysis showed that age, coma/stupor, abnormal respiratory manifestations, previous cardiovascular disease, incomplete response to naloxone, and endotracheal intubation were predictive factors for worse outcomes (complications/death) in opioid poisoning.

Opioid poisoning was more common than stimulant poisoning. Except for the type and route of exposure, there were no significant differences between patients poisoned with opioid or stimulant drugs. This highlights the necessity for targeted interventions based on specific clinical characteristics to improve patient outcomes.