PATTERN OF ILLICIT DRUG USE AMONG ADULTS ATTENDING FAMILY MEDICINE CENTER OF FANARAH VILLAGE IN ISMAILIA CITY, EGYPT.

EL-Zoghby, Safaa M.; Mansour, Nadia M.; Eldahshan, Nahed A.; Fawzy, Manal S.; Hagras, Abeer M.

doi:10.21608/ejfsat.2017.45678

PATTERN OF ILLICIT DRUG USE AMONG ADULTS ATTENDING FAMILY MEDICINE CENTER OF FANARAH VILLAGE IN ISMAILIA CITY, EGYPT.

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Family Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Egypt

² Medical Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Egypt

³ Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology Department,Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Egypt

10.21608/ejfsat.2017.45678

Abstract

Background: Pattern of drug abuse and dependence are different between countries. This should be considered while planning preventive and therapeutic strategies for optimal outcome achievement. Aim: To identify and manage drug abuse phenomenon among adults attending Family Medicine Center of Fanarah Village in Ismailia city, Egypt. Pateints and methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was carried out on 243 adults, 60.9% male and 39.1% female aged between more than 18 to 65 years old . They attending Fanarah primary health care center, Ismailia city, Egypt, in the period from the first of June 2013 to the end of December, 2014. Participants were structured interviewed and asked about the socio-demographic and drug history data. An anonymous, designed questionnaire was fulfilled by the researcher for each participant and the confidentiality has been preserved. Drugs were estimated in the urine samples of all participants using thin-layer chromatography (TLC) followed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods. Results: The prevalence of illicit drug use was 44.8%. Male gender represented the majority of illicit drug users (32.9%) Vs female users which represented (11.9%) and the majority of drug abusers started taking drugs for the first time at age 15-24 years old. The distribution of the most commonly abused drugs among abusers was as follows: Bango 11.1%, Hashish 8.2% and tramadol 9.8%. Abusing Heroin, Cocaine and Valium, was less prevalent among the studied adults (1.2%, 0.8% and 1.2%, respectively). Conclusions: Illicit drug use among adults in the study population starts in younger ages. Cannabis is still the most widely abused one, although tramadol becomes an increasingly alarming phenomenon.

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