Identification of cases of intoxication and hospital admissions of patients with mental and behavioral disorders caused by psychoactive substances

Abstract

Intoxication is characterized as a clinical manifestation of a harmful effect produced in a living organism as a result of the interaction of a toxic agent with that organism. This study aimed to identify the profile of intoxicated patients treated in a health complex and characterize patients admitted for use of psychoactive substances, in the state of Minas Gerais (MG), comparing before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. To achieve the objective, this research was developed in two stages. The first stage is a cross-sectional study based on data collected from medical records of intoxicated patients treated at a health complex located in the city of Divinópolis-MG. While in the second stage, the public access hospital admission system (SIH-SUS) was used, in which data from patients with mental and behavioral disorders hospitalized for use of psychoactive substances were analyzed quantitatively, with emphasis on the state of MG, available at https://datasus. saude.gov.br/. The first stage was carried out from January 2018 until March 2022 and the second until December 2022. During the study period at the health complex, 768 medical records were analyzed, 65 cases of intoxication were identified, the majority of which were cases of chronic
intoxication (n=58, 89.23 %), which resulted from the following toxicants: alcohol n=32, 55.17 %; tobacco n= 29, 50 %; marijuana n= 06, 10.34 %; and crack and cocaine n=12, 20.69 %. It is possible to observe the cases of intoxications recorded per year of care at the health complex, in Divinópolis, in the years 2018 (n= 4, 6.15 %), 2019 (n=15, 23.08 %), 2020 (n=14, 21.54 %), 2021
(n= 12, 18.46 %), and 2022 (n= 20, 30.77 %). In comparison, it was observed that in the years
during the COVID-19 pandemic, during 2020 and 2021 (n=26), there was an increase in cases of intoxication, compared to the years, 2018 and 2019 (n=19) before the pandemic. In contrast,
as for SIH-SUS data, they showed a decrease of n= 581 (13.88 %) of hospitalization cases in the
years 2020 to 2021, in relation to the years 2018 to 2019. These results demonstrated that,
the pandemic, there was a drop in cases of intoxication notifications, or possible underreporting. The development of measures to promote health and prevent intoxication are essential factors to change this reality, thus solutions must be taken, such as: social action and awareness about the abuse of these substances, in addition to actions that promote the mental health of these patients.