Establishment of a Novel Approach for Drug Abuse Monitoring and Its Application in Medical Institutions

BACKGROUND Drug abuse is a global public health concern with substantial medical, psychological, and social consequences. Drug abuse monitoring (DAM) systems help identify patterns of substance misuse and support regulatory interventions. Current monitoring systems mainly rely on fixed-point reporting from addiction treatment centers, detention facilities, and compulsory detoxification institutions, which can lead to delayed detection and incomplete data coverage. Additionally, there is increasing misuse of prescription medications, over-the-counter drugs, and emerging psychoactive substances in medical settings. Therefore, establishment of a structured DAM approach within medical institutions is important to improve early detection and reporting of drug abuse. MATERIAL AND METHODS A single-center retrospective observational study was conducted at Wuxi Mental Health Centre to monitor patients diagnosed with drug/substance abuse between September 2020 and December 2024. A DAM research group was established to standardize reporting procedures, define staff responsibilities, and implement monitoring protocols linked to the national reporting system. RESULTS In total, 146 patients with drug/substance abuse were monitored: 41 male individuals (28.08%) and 105 female individuals (71.92%). Nineteen drugs or substances across 5 categories were identified. Sedative-hypnotic drugs represented the largest proportion of cases (98.63%). Antipyretic and analgesic drugs containing caffeine were abused in 4.11% of cases; dextromethorphan or Yumei tablets were involved in 3.42% of cases. Nitrous oxide abuse was identified in 2.05% of all monitored cases; affected patients were aged 17 to 25 years. CONCLUSIONS The proposed DAM approach was successfully implemented in a hospital setting and demonstrated feasibility for systematic monitoring of drug abuse in medical institutions.