Historique
Article de Périodique
Increase in emergency department visits related to cannabis reported using syndromic surveillance system (2019)
Auteur(s) :
NOEL, G. N. ;
MAGHOO, A. M. ;
FRANKE, F. F. ;
VIUDES, G. V. ;
MINODIER, P. M.
Année
2019
Page(s) :
621-625
Langue(s) :
Anglais
Refs biblio. :
25
Domaine :
Drogues illicites / Illicit drugs
Discipline :
EPI (Epidémiologie / Epidemiology)
Thésaurus géographique
FRANCE
Thésaurus mots-clés
CANNABIS
;
URGENCE
;
SURVEILLANCE EPIDEMIOLOGIQUE
;
EVOLUTION
;
ETUDE TRANSVERSALE
;
INTOXICATION
;
ADMISSION
;
AGE
;
ENFANT
;
ADOLESCENT
Résumé :
BACKGROUND: Cannabis is illegal in France but, as in many countries, legalization is under debate. In the United States, an increase of emergency department (ED) visits related to cannabis exposure (CE) in infants and adults was reported. In France, a retrospective observational study also suggested an increase of CE in children under 6 years old. This study only included toddlers and the data sources used did not allow repeated analysis for monitoring.
METHODS: Our study aimed to evaluate the trend in visits for CE in ED in patients younger than 27 years old in Southern France. A cross-sectional study using the Electronic Emergency Department Abstracts (EEDA) included in the national Syndromic Surveillance System. CE visits were defined using International Classification of Disease (ICD-10).
RESULTS: From 2009 to 2014, 16 EDs consistently reported EEDA with <5% missing diagnosis code. Seven hundred and ninety seven patients were admitted for CE including 49 (4.1%) children under 8 years old. From 2009-11 to 2012-14, the rate of CE visits increased significantly across all age groups. The highest increase was in the 8-14 years old (+144%; 1.85-4.51, P < 0.001) and was also significant in children under 8 (0.53-1.06; P = 0.02). Among children under 8, hospitalization rate (75.5% vs. 16.8%; P < 0.001) and intensive care unit admissions (4.1% vs. 0.1%; P < 0.001) were higher compared with patients older than 8 years.
CONCLUSION: These trends occurred despite cannabis remaining illegal. EEDA could be useful for monitoring CE in EDs.
Key points:
- In the USA, in a context of cannabis legalization, an increase in cannabis intoxication was reported in adults and children.
- Originally, using data included in the French Syndromic Surveillance System we reported a significant increase of cannabis intoxication for all age groups including accidental ingestion in children under 8 years old.
- This increase, observed out of any change in cannabis law, has to be taken into account for the ongoing debate on cannabis legalization.
- Prevention campaigns against cannabis use should highlight the risks for serious unintentional infant poisoning.
METHODS: Our study aimed to evaluate the trend in visits for CE in ED in patients younger than 27 years old in Southern France. A cross-sectional study using the Electronic Emergency Department Abstracts (EEDA) included in the national Syndromic Surveillance System. CE visits were defined using International Classification of Disease (ICD-10).
RESULTS: From 2009 to 2014, 16 EDs consistently reported EEDA with <5% missing diagnosis code. Seven hundred and ninety seven patients were admitted for CE including 49 (4.1%) children under 8 years old. From 2009-11 to 2012-14, the rate of CE visits increased significantly across all age groups. The highest increase was in the 8-14 years old (+144%; 1.85-4.51, P < 0.001) and was also significant in children under 8 (0.53-1.06; P = 0.02). Among children under 8, hospitalization rate (75.5% vs. 16.8%; P < 0.001) and intensive care unit admissions (4.1% vs. 0.1%; P < 0.001) were higher compared with patients older than 8 years.
CONCLUSION: These trends occurred despite cannabis remaining illegal. EEDA could be useful for monitoring CE in EDs.
Key points:
- In the USA, in a context of cannabis legalization, an increase in cannabis intoxication was reported in adults and children.
- Originally, using data included in the French Syndromic Surveillance System we reported a significant increase of cannabis intoxication for all age groups including accidental ingestion in children under 8 years old.
- This increase, observed out of any change in cannabis law, has to be taken into account for the ongoing debate on cannabis legalization.
- Prevention campaigns against cannabis use should highlight the risks for serious unintentional infant poisoning.
Affiliation :
PACA Regional Emergency Department Observatory (ORUPACA), Hyères, France