Características clínicas de usuários abusivos de substâncias psicoativas internados em Unidade de Terapia Intensiva

Objetive: to describe causes of hospitalization and comorbidities of patients diagnosed with substance abuse / dependence admitted to an Intensive Care Unit. Method: retrospective, descriptive-exploratory, cross-sectional and quantitative study. Results: a total of 865 medical records were analyzed between 2012 and 2015. The prevalence of substance use was 51.9%, of these 22% of total alcohol users and 48.7% tobacco. Among the users with diagnosed dependence, the main causes of hospitalization were Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (100%) and digestive hemorrhage (84%) and most patients presented more than onecomorbidity simultaneously. Conclusion: the results showed numerous causes of hospitalization and comorbidities that demonstrated the physical and mental impairment that may be related to excessive consumption of psychoactive substances.