Substance/alcohol abuse is an important public health threat in most countries. Social stigmatization and legal restrictions prevent accurate and direct estimate of prevalence of substance/alcohol abuse in Iran. This study aimed to estimate of the prevalence of alcohol and substance use among Iranian patients who were admitted to operating rooms of a general hospital in Tehran and identified risk factors that may predict alcohol and substance use. This cross-sectional study was conducted among all consecutive patients who were admitted to 16 operating rooms in Vali-e-Asr General Educational Hospital (Tehran, Iran) during March 2014 to September 2015. Data were derived from a medical history form prior to operation by trained nurses who were working in the operating rooms. Among 1136 patients admitted to operating rooms, 105 (28.7%) men and 21 (2.7%) women were substance/alcohol users. The main substance of abuse was opium (57.3%) followed by alcohol consumption (25.6%) and water pipe smoking (14.8%). Cigarette smoking was reported by 110 (30.1%) men and 21 (2.7%) women. Sex, cigarette smoking and family history of alcohol and substance abuse predicted 42.3% of the variance in substance abuse/alcohol consumption. Substance use, especially opium, alcohol, water pipe tobacco and cigarette smoking were found to be significantly high particularly among male patients. Being a man, current cigarette smoking and having a first-degree family member who had abused substances should be considered when planning preventive or therapeutic programs.

This study clarified the effect of pharmacist‐led interventions to decrease the cost and inappropriate prescribing of parenteral paracetamol (PP). The prescribing pattern of PP was assessed at baseline and after pharmacist‐led interventions (educational and protocol interventions) in a teaching hospital in Tehran, Iran. Comparison of appropriate dosage form between baseline and postintervention assessments indicated a significant difference (55.6% vs 77.6%, respectively; p < 0.001). Educational intervention significantly improved the appropriate duration of PP administration from baseline to postintervention (29% vs 41.7%, respectively; p = 0.006), but had no significant effect on the appropriateness of dosing. The mean monthly number of vials used decreased considerably following the educational and protocol interventions (25% (p = 0.002) and 59% (p < 0.001) reductions, respectively). Thus, incorporating educational and protocol interventions could promote the appropriate prescription and rational use of PP and aid in reducing its financial burden.