Follow-up after acute poisoning by substances of abuse: a prospective observational cohort study

Objective: To chart follow-up of patients after acute poisoning by substances of abuse, register whether patients referred to specialist health services attended, and whether patients contacted a general practitioner (GP) after the poisoning episode. Design: Observational cohort study. Setting: A primary care emergency outpatient clinic in Oslo, Norway. Subjects: Patients ≥12 years treated for acute poisoning by substances of abuse were included consecutively from October 2011 to September 2012. Main outcome measures: Follow-up initiated at discharge, proportion of cases in which referred patients attended within three months, and proportion of cases in which the patient consulted a GP the first month following discharge. Results: There were 2343 episodes of acute poisoning by substances of abuse. In 391 (17%) cases the patient was hospitalised, including 49 (2%) in psychiatric wards. In 235 (10%) cases the patient was referred to specialist health services, in 91 (4%) advised to see their GP, in 82 (3%) to contact social services, in 74 (3%) allotted place in a homeless shelter, and in 93 (4%) other follow-up was initiated. In 1096 (47%) cases, the patient was discharged without follow-up, and in a further 324 (14%), the patient self-discharged. When referred to specialist health services, in 200/235 (85%) cases the patient attended within three months. Among all discharges, in 527/1952 (27%) cases the patient consulted a GP within one month. When advised to see their GP, in 45/91 (49%) cases the patient did. Conclusion: Attendance was high for follow-up initiated after acute poisoning by substances of abuse