Ghaazaan Khan, Mian Mukhtiar-ul Haq, Aimal Khan, Naeem S M, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Shafiullah.
Pattern of drugs misuse among patients attending iftikhar psychiatric hospital,peshawar.
J Saidu Med Col Jan ;10(1):88-92.

Background: Drug addiction is a very common issue in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa due to easy availability of drugs on account of sharing border with Afghanistan, illiteracy and lack of implementation of laws to deal with drug trafficking. There is need to study the pattern of misuse of illicit drugs in this region. Objectives: To determine the pattern of drugs misuse among patients attending Iftikhar Psychiatric Hospital, Peshawar Material and Methods: It was a descriptive study, carried out on 135 persons, with history of drugs misus, who were presented to Iftikhar Psychiatric Hospital, Peshawar, from January 2019 to December 2019. Urine samples of every subject were screened for various drugs using immune chromatography technique. Results: The most frequently misused drug in the study was Opiate (84%) followed by Marijuana(76%), Benzodiazepines(43%), Methamphetamines(8%), Tricyclic antidepressants(4%) and cocaine(0.74%). Out of the total 135 patients, 133(98.5%) were males while 2(1.5%) were females. Poly substance misuse was more predominant in the study. Conclusion: Drug addiction is a very serious public health issue globally including Pakistan. Male addiction predominance and opiates overuse is observed high in the present study. There is need to take all necessary steps to curb the curse of drug abuse.

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