Sarfaraz Yousra, Jafri Lena, Majid Hafsa, Khan Nadeem Ullah, Sadiqa Ayesha, Khan Aysha Habib, Siddiqui Imran, Ahmed Sibtain
Medical College and Section of Chemical Pathology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory, Aga Khan University (AKU), Karachi, Pakistan.
Department of Emergency Medicine, Aga Khan University (AKU), Karachi, Pakistan.
PLOS Glob Public Health. 2025 May 5;5(5):e0004424. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0004424. eCollection 2025.
The utilization of urine testing for drugs of abuse has emerged as a valuable tool in discerning the evolving landscape of drug abuse patterns. The objective of this study was to determine the patterns of drug of abuse within the Pakistani population, incorporating demographic factors such as age, gender, and location. This observational study was conducted at the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Aga Khan University from January 2008 to December 2022. A review of drugs of abuse screening data extracted from laboratory information system was carried out. The panel includes screening of common drugs, amphetamine (AMP), benzodiazepine (BZO), barbiturates (BAR), cannabinoids (THC), cocaine (COC), and opioids (OPI) as well as blood alcohol (ALC) levels. Mean, standard deviation, percentage and frequency were calculated by using STATA version 13.Over a period of 15 years, a total of 130, 859 tests were performed, with 89.5% being male and mean age of 32.4 ± 11.3 years, while seventy-seven percent of the specimens (n = 101, 648) came from the province of Sindh. Of the total 6270 (4.8%) were screened positive for at least one drug, THC (n = 3626, 57.8%) was the most frequently positive test, followed by OPI (n = 1000, 16%), ALC (n = 671, 10.7%), COC (n = 31, 0.5%), AMP (n = 45, 0.7%), BAR (n = 35, 0.6%) and BZO (n = 862, 13.7%). Yearly trend analysis shows an increasing number of THC tests requested over time, with THC exhibiting the highest positivity rate, followed by BZO, OPI, and ALC.The 15-year patterns depict the rising prevalence of drug consumption which is subsequently increasing the demand for drug screening tests. The study highlights Pakistan's growing drug prevalence and calls for targeted policies to address its use, including strengthened prevention programs, improved regulation and better management and rehabilitation access.
尿液药物滥用检测已成为识别药物滥用模式不断变化格局的一项重要工具。本研究的目的是确定巴基斯坦人群中的药物滥用模式，并纳入年龄、性别和地点等人口统计学因素。这项观察性研究于2008年1月至2022年12月在阿迦汗大学病理与检验医学系进行。对从实验室信息系统中提取的药物滥用筛查数据进行了回顾。检测项目包括常见药物筛查，如苯丙胺（AMP）、苯二氮䓬（BZO）、巴比妥类药物（BAR）、大麻素（THC）、可卡因（COC）、阿片类药物（OPI）以及血液酒精（ALC）水平。使用STATA 13版本计算均值、标准差、百分比和频率。在15年的时间里，共进行了130859次检测，其中89.5%为男性，平均年龄为32.4±11.3岁，而77%的样本（n = 101648）来自信德省。在总共6270例（4.8%）中，至少有一种药物筛查呈阳性，THC（n = 3626，57.8%）是最常呈阳性的检测项目，其次是OPI（n = 1000，16%）、ALC（n = 671，10.7%）、COC（n = 31，0.5%）、AMP（n = 45，0.7%）、BAR（n = 35，0.6%）和BZO（n = 862，13.7%）。年度趋势分析显示，随着时间的推移，要求进行的THC检测数量不断增加，THC的阳性率最高，其次是BZO、OPI和ALC。15年的模式描绘了药物消费率的上升，这随后增加了对药物筛查检测的需求。该研究突出了巴基斯坦药物流行率的上升，并呼吁制定针对性政策来应对药物使用问题，包括加强预防项目、改善监管以及更好地提供管理和康复服务。
