Introduction:

The consumption of substances for the purpose of abuse, including drugs, has increased worldwide.

Objective:

To characterize patients treated for acute intoxications due to drugs consumed for abuse purposes.

Methods:

The universe was constituted by consultations of 961 patients, made to the emergency toxicology information service of the National Center of Toxicology, during the period from 2010 to 2014. They were all acute intoxications due to the consumption of substances for the purpose of abuse. The series included 578 patients with acute intoxications for abuse, where the causative agent was medication. We collected social and biological data, forms of consumption, pharmacological groups, clinical manifestations, aspects of toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics.

Results:

Consumers of medications for the purpose of abuse accounted for 60.14% of consultations for the consumption of substances for the purpose of abuse. The age group of up to 20 years consumed the most (360 consultations, 62.28%) and the most frequent was the male sex (447 patients, 77.3%). The combination of drugs plus alcohol was the most used form of consumption (292 consultations, 50.5%). Carbamazepine was the most commonly used medication (305 consultations, 52.7%).

Conclusions:

Acute intoxication predominated in the age group of 10-20 years and of the male sex. The ingestion of drugs plus alcohol was the most used form of consumption. The most used pharmacological group for non-medical purposes was the anticonvulsant group (carbamazepine), followed by benzodiazepines and opiates. The clinical manifestations that predominated were of the neurological system, followed by cardiovascular and digestive.

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