Role of psycoactive drugs in road traffic accidents in Assiut

ABSTRACT

Injuries and fatalities occur in all forms of transportation but numerically road traffic accidents account for the great majority world wide. It has become a social problem internationally constituting rapidly spreading epidemic from which no country is immune. For several years, it has been suggested that psychoactive drugs would be a causative factor of traffic accidents by decreasing alertness, degradation of motor skills, reduction of visual acuity, disinhibition with attendant increase in risk-taking, slowing reaction time, degradation of judgments and decision making. The present work aims to verify the presence of alcohol or psychoactive drugs cannabis, trihexyphenidyl [parkinol]; diazepam, clonazepam, tramadol, codeine and dextromethorphen in urine of the drivers. The relationship between the use of these drugs and the severity of the injuries and the outcome of the drivers are also investigated. The study was carried out in the Casualty Department of Assiut University hospital. It was conducted on all the drivers of traffic accidents [RTAs] admitted to the hospital during the period between February and September 2001. Urine samples collected from drivers were used to search for presence of the abused drugs. Colour tests; and thin layer chromatography were used to identify these drugs