Self-discharge during treatment for acute recreational drug toxicity: an observational study from emergency departments in seven European countries

Vallersnes, Odd Martin; Dines, Alison M.; Wood, David M.; Heyerdahl, Fridtjof; Hovda, Knut Erik; Yates, Christopher; Giraudon, Isabelle; Caganova, Blazena; Ceschi, Alessandro; Galicia, Miguel; Liakoni, Evangelia; Liechti, Matthias E.; Miró, Òscar; Noseda, Roberta; Persett, Per Sverre; Põld, Kristiina; Schmid, Yasmin; Scholz, Irene; Vigorita, Federico; Dargan, Paul I.

doi:10.1186/s12245-023-00566-1

International Journal of Emergency Medicine

Table 3 Drugs and self-discharge from the emergency department during acute recreational drug toxicity

From: Self-discharge during treatment for acute recreational drug toxicity: an observational study from emergency departments in seven European countries

	Total n (%)	Self-discharge n (%)	Crude OR	95% CI	P value	Adjusted OR	95% CI	P value
Heroin	3615 (23.9)	599 (16.6)	1.70	1.53–1.89	< 0.001	1.44	1.26–1.64	< 0.001
Synthetic cannabinoids	440 (2.9)	73 (16.6)	1.49	1.15–1.92	0.002	1.44	1.10–1.89	0.008
Buprenorphine	135 (0.9)	21 (15.6)	1.36	0.85–2.18	0.20	1.25	0.78–2.01	0.35
Cathinones^a	148 (1.0)	17 (11.5)	0.96	0.58–1.59	0.86	1.19	0.71–1.99	0.51
Z-drugs	94 (0.6)	13 (13.8)	1.19	0.66–2.13	0.57	1.19	0.65–2.15	0.58
Ketamine	284 (1.9)	33 (11.6)	0.97	0.67–1.40	0.87	1.14	0.79–1.66	0.48
Benzodiazepines	2377 (15.7)	346 (14.6)	1.32	1.16–1.50	< 0.001	1.13	0.99–1.30	0.065
MDMA	1189 (7.9)	132 (11.1)	0.92	0.76–1.10	0.35	1.00	0.82–1.22	0.99
Ethanol^b	6246 (41.3)	683 (10.9)	0.85	0.77–0.94	0.001	0.94	0.84–1.05	0.25
Amphetamine	1991 (13.2)	241 (12.1)	1.02	0.88–1.18	0.81	0.92	0.79–1.07	0.28
Opioids^c	752 (5.0)	84 (11.2)	0.92	0.73–1.17	0.51	0.88	0.69–1.13	0.32
Methadone	436 (2.9)	48 (11.0)	0.91	0.67–1.23	0.54	0.82	0.61–1.12	0.22
NPS^d	116 (0.8)	11 (9.5)	0.77	0.41–1.44	0.41	0.81	0.43–1.53	0.52
Cocaine	2440 (16.1)	243 (10.0)	0.79	0.68–0.91	0.001	0.80	0.68–0.93	0.004
Cannabis	2362 (15.6)	233 (9.9)	0.78	0.67–0.90	0.001	0.79	0.67–0.92	0.003
LSD	198 (1.3)	18 (9.1)	0.74	0.45–1.20	0.22	0.77	0.47–1.25	0.29
GHB	2764 (18.3)	246 (8.9)	0.68	0.59–0.78	< 0.001	0.76	0.64–0.89	0.001
Crack	373 (2.5)	38 (10.2)	0.83	0.59–1.17	0.29	0.66	0.47–0.93	0.019
Methamphetamine	861 (5.7)	61 (7.1)	0.55	0.42–0.71	< 0.001	0.65	0.49–0.85	0.002
Pregabalin	99 (0.7)	7 (7.1)	0.56	0.26–1.21	0.14	0.48	0.22–1.04	0.064
Mephedrone	404 (2.7)	17 (4.2)	0.32	0.20–0.52	< 0.001	0.41	0.25–0.67	< 0.001
Other	700 (4.6)	66 (9.4)	0.76	0.59–0.98	0.036	0.82	0.63–1.07	0.14
Unknown	898 (5.9)	105 (11.7)	0.98	0.79–1.20	0.81	0.94	0.75–1.18	0.56
Total	15,135 (100)	1807 (11.9)

Logistic regression analysis. Numbers and percentages in the columns add up to more than the totals, as more than one toxic agent was taken in 9796/15135 (64.7%) cases
All drugs were included in the multivariate analysis. Reference groups are cases not involving the specified drug
Odds ratios are adjusted for the variables in the table. Adjusted odds ratios for associations with p < 0.05 are given in bold types
CI Confidence interval, GHB Gammahydroxybutyrate, LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, MDMA Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, NPS Novel psychoactive substances, OR Odds ratio
^aCathinones other than mephedrone
^bIsolated alcohol intoxications not included
^cUnspecified opioids and opioids other than heroin, methadone, and buprenorphine
^dUnspecified NPS and NPS other than cathinones and synthetic cannabinoids

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