Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34567345›Full record

ArticleThe Pan African medical journal2021

Illicit substances identified in the urine of 11.170 suspected drug users in North Tunisia.

Nadia Chaouali, Bilel Moslah, Kamel Ben Salem, Dorra Amira, Abderazzek Hedhili, Nabil Ben Salah

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The Pan African medical journal, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 40% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Nadia ChaoualiToxicology and Environmental Research Laboratory LR12SP07, Center for Urgent Medical Assistance, Montfleury 1008 Tunis Cedex, Tunisia.
Bilel MoslahToxicology and Environmental Research Laboratory LR12SP07, Center for Urgent Medical Assistance, Montfleury 1008 Tunis Cedex, Tunisia.
Kamel Ben SalemFaculty of Medicine of Sousse, Sousse, Tunisia.
Dorra AmiraToxicology and Environmental Research Laboratory LR12SP07, Center for Urgent Medical Assistance, Montfleury 1008 Tunis Cedex, Tunisia.
Abderazzek HedhiliToxicology and Environmental Research Laboratory LR12SP07, Center for Urgent Medical Assistance, Montfleury 1008 Tunis Cedex, Tunisia.
Nabil Ben SalahIntensive Care Unit, Center for Urgent Medical Assistance, Montfleury 1008 Tunis Cedex, Tunisia.
University of Monastir · TNUniversity of Sousse · TN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionaccording to the latest World Drug Report, 271 million people worldwide (5.5% of the global population) aged 15-64 years are drug users. Drug addiction and trafficking became an urgent public health problem that affects human health and social life. A cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2016 to December 2018, to identify the socio-demographic profile of drug users captured by the anti-narcotics squad in North of Tunisia (North African country) and to type, through toxicological analysis, the nature of the substances consumed.

methodsdata were collected from expertise files of 11170 suspected drug users. Fresh urine samples were collected from suspected drugs users and submitted in the toxicology laboratory of the center for Urgent Medical Assistance (Tunis) for forensic urinalysis. Drugs screening was carried out by immunochemical methods. Positive samples were analyzed with gas chromatography coupled to mass selective detector (GC-MS) for confirmation.

resultsthe investigation revealed that drug users were mainly males 97.4% (sex ratio 37), the median age was 29 ± 7.91 years, 91.3% were singles and 79% were daily workers. On a total of 11170 urine samples screened, 5 409 (48.4%) were positives for illicit drugs. The prevalence of positive samples was 55.4% in 2016; 50.45% in 2017 and 40.8% in 2018. Cannabis was the most widely consumed drug (95%), followed by Benzodiazepines (1.2%), Buprenorphine (1%), cocaine (0.95%), MDMA (0.24%) and opiates (0.13%). Polydrug abuse was observed in 79 specimens (1.5%).

conclusionthis study provides an overview of the illicit drug consumption in the north of Tunisia (knowing that nowadays epidemiological data are almost same since 2016) in order to set up an effective policy to fight against drugs and addictive behaviors and to provide health professionals with the epidemiological elements necessary for better medical care of drug users.

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overChildCross-Sectional StudiesDrug UsersFemaleGas Chromatography-Mass SpectrometryHumansIllicit DrugsMaleMiddle AgedPrevalenceSubstance Abuse DetectionSubstance-Related DisordersIllicit DrugscannabiscocainePrevalenceTunisiaurinalysis

Identifiers

PMID34567345
PMCPMC8444253
OpenAlexW3119497951

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.