Abstract

The use of synthetic cannabinoid (SC) products has become popular in recent years, but data regarding their impact on hospital stays are limited. The impact of SC and cannabis use on hospital length of stay and doses of antipsychotics at discharge was assessed in this study. The sample consisted of inpatients with discharge diagnoses of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or other psychotic disorders. Medical records of patients with self-reported SC use and negative urine drug screens (SC group, n = 77), with cannabis use confirmed by urine drug screen (cannabis group, n = 248), and with no drug use confirmed by urine drug screen (no-drug group, n = 1,336) were examined retrospectively. Length of stay (mean [SD] days) significantly differed (p < .001) among the SC (8.29 [4.29]), cannabis (8.02 [5.21]), and no-drug groups (10.19 [9.08]). Antipsychotic doses (chlorpromazine milligram equivalent doses) also significantly differed (p = .002) among the SC (254.64 [253.63]), cannabis (219.16 [216.71]), and no-drug groups (294.79 [287.85]). Unadjusted and adjusted pairwise comparisons showed that the cannabis group had a shorter length of stay (p < .001) and received lower doses of antipsychotics (p = .003) than the no-drug group. SC users did not differ significantly from the other two groups in either length of stay or doses of antipsychotics. Our findings suggest that acute SC exposure is not predictive of a more prolonged time for response to antipsychotic medications or of a need for larger doses of these medications compared with cannabis users.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.