Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow E-Letters: Submit a response to the article
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (7)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Birnbach, D. J.
Right arrow Articles by Thys, D. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Birnbach, D. J.
Right arrow Articles by Thys, D. M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

British Journal of Anaesthesia, 2001, Vol. 87, No. 3 488-490
© 2001 The Board of Management and Trustees of the British Journal of Anaesthesia

Short Communications

Identification of polysubstance abuse in the parturient

D. J. Birnbach*, I. M. Browne, A. Kim, D. J. Stein and D. M. Thys

Departments of Anesthesiology and Obstetrics and Gynecology, St Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, 1000 Tenth Ave., New York, NY 10019, USA*Corresponding author

Illicit drugs are widely used by inner city patients and their use by pregnant women has increased in recent years. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of polysubstance abuse among parturients at our institution who received no prenatal care (‘unbooked’) and to determine the accuracy of the Ontrak TesTcupTM an in vitro immunodiagnostic assay. We prospectively analysed urine from 50 ‘unbooked’ parturients and found that 26 (52%) tested positive for cocaine. Of these, six patients (23%) were also positive for morphine. All TesTcupTM results were confirmed by the hospital laboratory using alternate chemical methods. When comparing TesTcupTM to the hospital laboratory, there were no false positive or negative results. Given the high frequency of concomitant opioid abuse in cocaine-abusing parturients, anyone suspected of cocaine abuse should be tested for other illicit substances. TesTcupTM is a clinically accurate test that allows the rapid assessment of several drugs of abuse, which may impact on anaesthetic care.

Br J Anaesth 2001; 87: 488–90


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.