Psychoactive prescription drugs are linked to an increased risk of traumatic injury, and have a negative impact on clinical outcomes in trauma patients.
In this retrospective registry study, researchers looked at the extent of psychoactive drug dispensing prior to injury in all admitted trauma patients (2005-2014) in Norway.
The prevalence of psychoactive drug use was high among trauma patients. In terms of both frequency and amounts, the pre-injury dispensing of psychoactive drugs to trauma patients supersedes that of the general population, especially in younger patients.