Recreational Substance Use and Seizures: Analysis of Patients Dataset in a Tertiary Care Hospital
Abstract number :
3.403
Submission category :
16. Epidemiology
Year :
2022
Submission ID :
2204258
Source :
www.aesnet.org
Presentation date :
12/5/2022 12:00:00 PM
Published date :
Nov 22, 2022, 05:24 AM
Authors :
Sameer Sharma, MD – University of Mississippi Medical Center; Zheming Yu, MD – Department of Neurology – University of Mississippi Medical Center
Rationale: There is increasing knowledge that recreational substance users are at risk for seizures as reported in Neurotoxicology 2019;73:183-187; however, limited data are available in Mississippi. The goal of this study is to investigate the association between recreational substance use (RSU) and seizures at a university-based tertiary healthcare system in the Southeastern region.
Methods: A retrospective case-control study was conducted using Patient Cohort Explorer (a de-identified patient database compiled from Research Data Warehouse) from January 1, 2013, to February 28, 2021, at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC). This study included all patients with available drug tests (either urine or serum) and clinical diagnosis at the same encounter. Patients were divided into two groups: those with a diagnosis of seizures and without a diagnosis of seizures. Univariate analyses were conducted to identify the association between a list of available recreational substances and seizures.
Results: Of 2126 encounters, there were 1766 seizures (83.1%). Positive barbiturates (OR=3.67, 95% CI 1.33-10.1, P=0.007) and benzodiazepine (OR=1.42, 95% CI 1.08-1.88, P=0.013) tests were associated with a higher risk of seizures. In contrast, some drugs were associated with a lower risk of seizures, including cocaine (OR=0.60, 95% CI 0.40-0.90, P=0.013), methadone (OR=0.50, 95% CI 0.27-0.93, P=0.029), and opiate (OR=0.48, 95% CI 0.32-0.74, P=0.001).
Conclusions: This preliminary case-control study may provide complementary educational information to recreational substance users and healthcare providers. In the current study, cannabinoids do not relate to the trend of seizure protection as a previous report in Adv Exp Med Biol 2021;1264:93-110. These are the first reported data to describe the association between RSU and seizures in Mississippi. However, given limited information about confounding factors in this dataset, future medical record review for more properly designed studies is warranted to clarify the association between RSU and seizures.
Funding: Not applicable
Epidemiology