Emergency care carried out during the pandemic due to substance abuse in a Spanish province.

Introduction: During periods of isolation, people with substance use disorders may reduce tension, stress, uncertainty and possible distress by increasing the use of substances or practices that they have abused. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on emergency care and continuity of care for patients with substance use disorders.

Method: Study carried out in the only psychiatric emergency service in the province at the Hospital Universitario Santa María de Lérida, which cares for 431,183 people. Sociodemographic, clinical and evolutionary variables were collected from all the patients treated during a period prior to lockdown (January 13, 2020, until March 14, 2020) and during the first (March 15, 2020 until June 20, 2020) and second states of emergency (from October 25, 2020 to May 9, 2021).

Results: 908 patients attended with substance use disorder, representing 23.8% of all visits. During the first state of emergency, visits increased (p < 0,001) with a decrease in the average age (p = 0.0023). During the second state of emergency, there was an increase in the use of alcohol with respect to the rest of toxic substances (p < 0,001) and an increase in the visits of patients without prior follow-up (p = 0.005).

Conclusions: Substance use disorder consultations increased in the first state of emergency, with patients being younger and attending for reasons related to outpatient discontinuity, while in the second state of emergency, alcohol use increased in people without prior follow-up and with small social networks. Admissions in the first state of emergency were shorter, with no subsequent link to other detoxification treatment centers and with an earlier return to the emergency room, especially in female users.