OBJECTIVE: To better understand how toxicology screening for psychiatric patients in the emergency department (ED) setting affects diagnostic decisions. METHODS: Retrospective chart review of 439 ED visits of adult patients receiving psychiatry consultations at two hospitals, one an academic medical center (n =224) and the other a community hospital (n = 220), between July 2008 and February 2009. Clinical, demographic, and ED length of stay (LOS) information was abstracted from the psychiatry consultation notes and the medical records. RESULTS: Positive urine toxicology results, when combined with a basic substance abuse history, were not associated independently with a patient's receiving a substance-related diagnosis as part of the psychiatric assessment. By contrast, a positive blood alcohol level was associated independently with a patient's receiving one of these diagnoses while a positive alcohol use history was not. CONCLUSIONS: Urine toxicology screens do not add significant diagnostic value to all ED psychiatric evaluations when combined with standard substance use histories.
OBJECTIVE: To better understand how toxicology screening for psychiatricpatients in the emergency department (ED) setting affects diagnostic decisions. METHODS: Retrospective chart review of 439 ED visits of adult patients receiving psychiatry consultations at two hospitals, one an academic medical center (n =224) and the other a community hospital (n = 220), between July 2008 and February 2009. Clinical, demographic, and ED length of stay (LOS) information was abstracted from the psychiatry consultation notes and the medical records. RESULTS: Positive urine toxicology results, when combined with a basic substance abuse history, were not associated independently with a patient's receiving a substance-related diagnosis as part of the psychiatric assessment. By contrast, a positive blood alcohol level was associated independently with a patient's receiving one of these diagnoses while a positive alcohol use history was not. CONCLUSIONS: Urine toxicology screens do not add significant diagnostic value to all ED psychiatric evaluations when combined with standard substance use histories.
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