Drug-related admissions to an inpatient psychiatric unit

The authors prospectively monitored 60 consecutive admissions to an inpatient psychiatry service to determine the role of drugs in psychiatric hospitalization. They categorized drug-related problems as 1) drug intoxication, 2) drug abuse, 3) side effects of therapeutic drugs, and 4) noncompliance with prescribed medications. During the 6-month study 25 (41.7%) of the admissions were related to drug use; in 16 (26.7%) admissions a drug-related problem was identified as the primary cause of hospitalization. Alcohol was involved in 8 admissions, and Fiorinal, cocaine, and flurazepam were each related to 2 admissions.