Article: Prevalence of drugged drivers among non-fatal driver casualties presenting to a trauma centre in Hong Kong

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TitlePrevalence of drugged drivers among non-fatal driver casualties presenting to a trauma centre in Hong Kong
AuthorsWong, OF2
Tsui, KL2
Lam, TSK2
Sze, NN3
Wong, SC3
Lau, FL4
Liu, SH1
KeywordsAccidents
Traffic
Psychotropic drugs
Street drugs
Substance abuse detection
Issue Date2010
PublisherHong Kong Medical Association. The Journal's web site is located at http://www.hkmj.org/index.html
CitationHong Kong Medical Journal, 2010, v. 16 n. 4, p. 246-251 [How to Cite?]
AbstractOBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of abusive drug exposure among non-fatal motor vehicle driver casualties presenting to a designated trauma centre in Hong Kong. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Designated trauma centre/regional accident and emergency department in Hong Kong. SUBJECTS: Non-fatal motor vehicle driver casualties who presented to the trauma centre from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2007. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Screening of abusive drug exposure using commercial bedside urine immunoassay kits. RESULTS: Drug screening was performed in 395 injured drivers, 10% of whom tested positive for the drugs of interest. Ketamine was the most commonly detected abusive substance (found in 45% of the subjects). A significantly higher proportion of young drivers (aged <25 years) screened positive (odds ratio=2.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.0-5.2; P=0.04), with the rate being 21%. The presence of these drugs in urine was related to the time of occurrence of the crash; those occurring between midnight and dawn revealed a trend towards a higher proportion of casualties testing drug-positive (odds ratio=2.2; 95% confidence interval, 0.9-5.3; P=0.07). There were no significant differences in the frequency of persons testing positive for the screened drugs with respect to gender, class of motor vehicle driven, or the day of the week on which the crash occurred. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of drugged driving among non-fatal casualties in our series of Hong Kong drivers was 10%. The frequency of such drivers testing positive for drugs was significantly higher in persons aged less than 25 years. These findings indicate a need to amend existing laws and implement on-site drug screening for suspected drugged drivers.
ISSN1024-2708
2011 SCImago Journal Rankings: 0.054
DC Field
Value
dc.contributor.authorWong, OF
dc.contributor.authorTsui, KL
dc.contributor.authorLam, TSK
dc.contributor.authorSze, NN
dc.contributor.authorWong, SC
dc.contributor.authorLau, FL
dc.contributor.authorLiu, SH
dc.date.accessioned2010-10-31T10:23:05Z
dc.date.available2010-10-31T10:23:05Z
dc.date.issued2010
dc.description.abstractOBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of abusive drug exposure among non-fatal motor vehicle driver casualties presenting to a designated trauma centre in Hong Kong. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Designated trauma centre/regional accident and emergency department in Hong Kong. SUBJECTS: Non-fatal motor vehicle driver casualties who presented to the trauma centre from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2007. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Screening of abusive drug exposure using commercial bedside urine immunoassay kits. RESULTS: Drug screening was performed in 395 injured drivers, 10% of whom tested positive for the drugs of interest. Ketamine was the most commonly detected abusive substance (found in 45% of the subjects). A significantly higher proportion of young drivers (aged <25 years) screened positive (odds ratio=2.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.0-5.2; P=0.04), with the rate being 21%. The presence of these drugs in urine was related to the time of occurrence of the crash; those occurring between midnight and dawn revealed a trend towards a higher proportion of casualties testing drug-positive (odds ratio=2.2; 95% confidence interval, 0.9-5.3; P=0.07). There were no significant differences in the frequency of persons testing positive for the screened drugs with respect to gender, class of motor vehicle driven, or the day of the week on which the crash occurred. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of drugged driving among non-fatal casualties in our series of Hong Kong drivers was 10%. The frequency of such drivers testing positive for drugs was significantly higher in persons aged less than 25 years. These findings indicate a need to amend existing laws and implement on-site drug screening for suspected drugged drivers.
dc.description.naturepublished_or_final_version
dc.identifier.citationHong Kong Medical Journal, 2010, v. 16 n. 4, p. 246-251 [How to Cite?]
dc.identifier.epage251
dc.identifier.hkuros176321
dc.identifier.issn1024-2708
2011 SCImago Journal Rankings: 0.054
dc.identifier.issue4
dc.identifier.openurl
dc.identifier.pmid20683065
dc.identifier.scopuseid_2-s2.0-77957724280
dc.identifier.spage246
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/124243
dc.identifier.volume16
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherHong Kong Medical Association. The Journal's web site is located at http://www.hkmj.org/index.html
dc.relation.ispartofHong Kong Medical Journal
dc.rightsCreative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License
dc.rightsHong Kong Medical Journal. Copyright © Hong Kong Medical Association.
dc.subjectAccidents
dc.subjectTraffic
dc.subjectPsychotropic drugs
dc.subjectStreet drugs
dc.subjectSubstance abuse detection
dc.titlePrevalence of drugged drivers among non-fatal driver casualties presenting to a trauma centre in Hong Kong
dc.typeArticle
Author Affiliations
  1. Hong Kong Hospital Authority
  2. Tuen Mun Hospital
  3. The University of Hong Kong
  4. United Christian Hospital Hong Kong