Evolution of drug use after enforcing a new protocol in a medium stay unit

Abstract

Background and aims:Comorbidity between drug misuse and mental disorders affects negatively in the prognosis of psychistric illness, so it´s important to guarantee drug abstinence at least during hospitalization. This is even more significant in a medium stay unit because patients are more serious and resistant to treatment.In February 2003, a multidisciplinary group was formed to evaluate the situation of drug use in a psychiatric hospital and a drug screening protocol was then created.We evaluate if with the protocol, drug use decreases during hospitalization in a medium stay unit in a psychiatric hospital.Material and methods:It is compared drug use (positive results in urine samples) from 2000 to 2002 (before protocol: urine samples collected when there´s drug misuse suspicion) with the period after the protocol was enforced (from 2003 to 2006). In the protocol urine samples are collected when there´s a past misuse history, consumption suspicion, randomly and every time they leave for home.Results:It is proved that drug use decreases during hospitalization since the new protocol came into force.Conclusion:The introduction and exhaustive completion of a protocol designed to decrease drug misuse in a psychiatric hospitalization unit, provokes a high reduction of drug use, so we think it´s convenient to generalize this kind of measures.