C1 Hospital discharges
Key Points 2006/07
Overview
- During 2006/07 there were 4,620 general acute hospital
discharges with a diagnosis of drug misuse, a rate of 94 discharges
per 100,000 population (Tables C1.1 and C1.2).
- In 2006/07 the ratio of discharges to patients was 1.3 (Table
C1.1).
- Over two-thirds of discharges were male (3,188) compared with
1,432 discharges for females (Table C1.2).
- The 25 to 29 years old age group had the highest rate of
discharges, with 321 per 100,000 population (Table C1.2).
- Ninety-three percent (4,298) of discharges were admitted as an
emergency rather than elective (i.e. planned) intake. The
percentage of emergency intakes was lowest amongst those aged 50 or
over (84%) compared with 89% or more in all other age groups (Table
C1.5).
- Sixty percent (2,762) of discharges were from the speciality of
general medicine. A further 8% were discharged from orthopaedics
and 7% from accident and emergency (Table C1.6).
- More than 90% of cases (4,264) involved a stay of less than a
week (Table C1.7).
Five Year trends – 2002/03 to 2006/07
- There has been little change in the rate of discharges with a
diagnosis of drug misuse between 2002/03 and 2006/07 (fluctuating
between a minimum of 89 discharges per 100,000 population and a
maximum of 94 discharges per 100,000 population) (Table C1.2).
- The rate per 100,000 population for discharges with a diagnosis
of drug misuse varied across age groups between 2002/03 and
2005/06. The rate showed a tendency to decline in age groups below
30 years old and, conversely, a tendency to increase in those aged
30 years old and over. In particular, the trends were significant
in both the 20 to 24 years old age group (a fall from 282
discharges per 100,000 population in 2001/02 to 188 in 2005/06) and
the 40 to 44 years old age group (a rise from 71 discharges per
100,000 population in 2001/02 to 131 in 2005/06) (Table C1.2).
- The proportions of male and female discharges have remained
stable over the five year period with males accounting for
approximately 70% of discharges (Table C1.2).
Drugs recorded
- Opioids were recorded in almost two-thirds of discharges
involving drug misuse (2,957). Cannabinoids (397) and cocaine (318)
were the next most frequently recorded drugs (Table C1.3).
- The types of drug recorded varied with age. Opioids were
recorded in 20% of cases involving patients aged under 20 years old
and in 67% of cases for those aged 20 years old and over.
Conversely cannabinoids were recorded in 29% of cases for those
aged under 20 years old and in only 7% of cases involving patients
aged 20 years old and over. Cocaine figures were 14% for those
under 20 years old and 6% for those aged 20 years old and over.
Other stimulants were recorded in 32% of cases under 20 years old
and in only 4% of cases involving patients aged 20 years old and
over (Table C1.3).
Geographical profile
- The rate of drug misuse discharges varied across Scotland in
2006/07 with the highest levels seen in NHS Ayrshire & Arran
(201 discharges per 100,000 population), NHS Greater Glasgow &
Clyde (123 discharges per 100, 000 population), NHS Fife and NHS
Grampian (both with a rate of 113 discharges per 100,000
population) (Table C1.2).
Background information
Data on individual patients are collected by ISD Scotland as a
series of Scottish Morbidity Records (SMR).
The SMR datasets are a significant local and national
information resource, and are used for epidemiological monitoring,
health needs assessment, national and local planning and a range of
other applications.
SMR01 is an episode based patient record relating to all
inpatients and day cases discharged from specialities other than
mental health, maternity, neonatal and geriatric long stay
specialities in the NHS Scotland. A record is generated for each
inpatient and day case episode, of which there are about 1,200,000
each year. Attendances at Accident and Emergency that do not result
in an admission are not included. Each individual patient may have
more than one episode and hence the number of people discharged
within a year will be less than the total number of discharges. The
SMR01 basic data set encompasses patient identification and
demographic information, episode management information and general
clinical information. Items such as waiting time for inpatient or
day case admission and length of stay may be derived from the
episode management information.
When figures are broken down by geographical area or age the
numbers in some categories can be very small. In these cases both
differences between categories and trends over time should be
interpreted with caution because they may be misleading.
The tables presented here are derived from the SMR01, and
contain information about patients admitted to general hospitals
(mainly for emergency treatment), where drugs misuse is diagnosed
as a factor in the patient's treatment. Up to six diagnoses are
recorded per admission, and episodes with either a main or a
supplementary diagnosis of drugs misuse are included. Poisonings
and overdoses are not included unless a diagnosis of drug misuse is
also recorded. In the tables of drug type (C1.3, C1.4 and C1.8),
there is an element of double counting as episodes may be
associated with, for example, diagnoses of both opiate and cocaine
misuse. Drugs misuse is recorded using the International
Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD10) Codes. The
following codes were used in the analysis presented in this
section:
ICD 10 Code |
Description |
ICD 10 Code |
Description |
F11 |
Opioids |
F15 |
Other Stimulants |
F12 |
Cannabinoids |
F16 |
Hallucinogens |
F13 |
Sedatives / Hypnotics |
F18 |
Volatile Solvents |
F14 |
Cocaine |
F19 |
Multiple / Other Psychoactive
Substances |
Some caution is necessary when using
these data as (a) drug misuse may only be suspected and may not
always be recorded by the hospital, and (b) where drug misuse is
recorded, it may not be possible to identify which drug(s) may be
involved.
Further information
Information on ISD Scotland’s national datasets can be
found on our website at:
http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/4306.html
Further statistics on general acute hospital discharges are
available at:
http://www.isdscotland.org/acute_hospital_care
If you would like further information on hospital discharges
relating to drug misuse then please contact the Substance Misuse
Information Strategy Team at
substancemisuse@isd.csa.scot.nhs.uk
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