COVID-19 Pandemisinin Kuzey Kıbrıs'ta Madde Bağımlılığı ve Aşırı Dozda Uyuşturucu Nedeniyle Acil Servis Başvurularına Etkisi

Abstract

Introduction: Following the COVID-19 outbreak in China in December 2019, viral spread started to be seen in many countries. In March 2020, simultaneous with the pandemic declaration, the first case was observed in Northern Cyprus. During this time, the emergency department visit patterns showed differences worldwide. 
 Aim: Thus, this study aims to compare and contrast the differences between pre-pandemic and pandemic period emergency department visits resulting from any kind of drug and/or substance intoxication. To do so, a retrospective analysis was held using two private university hospitals’ electronic recording systems for the periods of 1st December 2017-9th March 2020 (before the pandemic) and 10th March 2020-30th June 2022 (during the COVID-19 pandemic). 
 Results: The demographic data were collected, and the study-specific data were grouped into 5 different intoxication categories. Data collected were compared in terms of pre- and post-pandemic timescales. The results showed that there is no significant difference between the demographic data of patients however, intoxication-related emergency department visits were significantly lower during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period.
 Conclusion: This study will be a pioneer in contributing to many social problems, especially substance abuse, which was previously lacking in scientific data in Northern Cyprus.