Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of synthetic cannabinoid users in a large psychiatric emergency department in Turkey

Abstract

Synthetic cannabinoid (SC) use is a global concern and is creating new challenges for treatment services. Although some studies have been reported, there is a need for further research regarding the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of SC users so that general and psychiatric emergency departments can provide more effective treatments. We aimed to investigate the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics in a cohort of patients using SC who presented to the psychiatric emergency department of the University of Health Sciences, Istanbul Erenköy Training and Research Hospital for Psychiatry and Neurology (ERSHEAH) in Istanbul, Turkey. This cross-sectional and retrospective medical record review examined 340 SC users who presented to the emergency department of ERSHEAH in a 3-month period. The mean age of the SC users was 26.8 ± 7.5 years and 92.6% were men. Psychotic symptoms were present in 247 SC users (78.8%). Severe intoxication was diagnosed in 26 SC users (7.6%), although SC was detectable in the samples of only 6 patients (13.6%). Impaired consciousness (42.3%) was the most common reason for referral to the general hospital and increased liver enzyme levels (15.9%) were the most common indication in the laboratory findings. We observed that the SC users in our sample presenting as psychiatric emergencies were mostly young men experiencing psychotic symptoms. Determining the sociodemographic and clinical properties of SC users may provide an important contribution to fast recognition and more effective management of acute symptoms of SC users in emergency departments.