Prevalence of medicinal drugs in suspected impaired drivers and a comparison with the use in the general Dutch population

Bezemer, Karlijn; Smink, B. E.; Maanen, Rianne van; Verschraagen, Miranda; Gier, Johan J. de

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2014.06.004

Cited by 11 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…In line with a Dutch study (Bezemer et al, 2014), suspects in all DUI groups were more likely to use psychoactive medication with abuse potential, particularly benzodiazepines compared to references. For opioid analgesics the findings were slightly different: DUIA and DUIP suspects' use of opioids did not differ from the reference population.…”

Section: Main Findings and Their Interpretationsupporting

confidence: 81%

The use of psychoactive prescription drugs among DUI suspects

Karjalainen

Haukka

Lintonen

et al. 2015

Drug and Alcohol Dependence

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Section: Main Findings and Their Interpretationsupporting

confidence: 81%

The use of psychoactive prescription drugs among DUI suspects

Karjalainen

Haukka

Lintonen

et al. 2015

Drug and Alcohol Dependence

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“…Psychoactive prescription drugs are commonly and increasingly identified in the blood and urine samples of drug-impaired drivers (Bezemer et al, 2014;Burch et al, 2013;Christophersen and Mørland, 2008;Jones et al, 2009;Karjalainen et al, 2015;NBFM, 2014;Wilson et al, 2014). Because psychoactive drugs may impair driving ability, their users are at increased risk of traffic accidents (Dassanayake et al, 2011;Gustavsen et al, 2008;Hetland and Carr, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Non-prescribed use of psychoactive prescription drugs among drug-impaired drivers in Sweden

Tjäderborn

Jönsson

Sandström

et al. 2016

Drug and Alcohol Dependence

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Aims: To determine the prevalence of non-prescribed drug use among subjects suspected of drug-impaired driving with a confirmed intake of a psychoactive prescription drug, and to identify associated factors. Methods:Subjects investigated for drug-impaired driving in Sweden during 2006-2009 with a confirmed intake of diazepam, flunitrazepam, tramadol, zolpidem or zopiclone were identified using the Swedish Forensic Toxicology Database. Information on dispensed prescription drugs was retrieved from the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register. Non-prescribed use was defined as a confirmed use of a psychoactive prescription drug intake confirmed by toxicological analysis in a subject by whom it was not dispensed in the 12 months preceding the sampling. Prevalence proportions were calculated for each drug and logistic regression was used to identify associated factors. Results: In total, 2225 subjects were included. The median age (range) was 34 (15-80) years and 1864 (83.8%) subjects were male. Non-prescribed use was found in 1513 subjects (58.7%); for flunitrazepam 103 (76.3%), diazepam 1098 (74.1%), tramadol 192 (40.3%), zopiclone 60 (29.7%), and zolpidem 60 (21.2%) subjects, respectively. Younger age and multiple-substance use were associated with nonprescribed use, whereas ongoing treatment with other psychoactive drugs was negatively associated with nonprescribed use. Conclusions: Non-prescribed use of psychoactive prescription drugs was common in subjects suspected of drug-impaired driving and was more frequent for benzodiazepines and tramadol compared to zolpidem and zopiclone. The young and multi-substance users were more likely, whereas subjects with ongoing prescribed treatment with other psychoactive drugs were less likely, to use non-prescribed drugs.

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“…The mean and median concentrations of KET detected in those cases were 421 and 385 ng/mL, respectively, and the mean and median concentrations of norketamine, the main metabolite, were 605 and 410 mg/mL, respectively. Another survey [20] found that 10 of 3038 blood samples collected from impaired drivers were KETpositive. Two further studies reported 45% KET positivity among intoxicated drivers involved in non-fatal traffic accident [21] and 9% positivity among those involved in fatal crashes [22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%