News: Cannabis poisoning and mental health disorders linked, ED coding study finds

A retrospective study based on ICD-10-CM data from nearly 17,000 emergency department (ED) visits found that individuals who received emergency medical care due to cannabis poisoning were significantly more likely than other patients to be diagnosed with mental health disorders.

Researchers specializing in public health and social work analyzed data from 2016 from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample, which is a publicly available database of ED visits in the United States. This study was done in hopes of better understanding characteristics of patients who receive emergency care due to cannabis poisoning.

During the study, researchers identified 16,884 patients who presented at initial encounter for accidental cannabis poisoning, sociodemographic factors, and mental health disorders. The results found that those who sought care for cannabis poising were most likely to be:

• Male
• Young
• More likely to experience economic hardship
• Reside in urban central cities
• Experience mental health disorders when compared to patients admitted for other conditions

Further analysis found that individuals who received care in an ED for cannabis poisoning were more likely to be diagnosed with mood and anxiety disorders as well as childhood onset behavioral and emotional disorders. Additionally, rates of admission for cannabis poisoning were roughly two times higher among those with psychotic disorders.

Researchers noted that the findings may be limited by the nonspecific nature of the ICD-10-CM code T40.7X1A for cannabis poisoning. The code is used to classify patients who present symptoms brought on by overconsumption of cannabis, so the code assignment is largely up to the provider’s judgement.

Despite limitations of data, researchers emphasize the study addresses an important gap in national data on patients at-risk for cannabis poisoning. Researchers suggest providers be more aware of and proactive on prevention and treatment needs of these high-risk subgroups and perform mental health screenings on patients who seek treatment for cannabis poisoning.

To better help collect data on cannabis poisoning based on sociodemographic factors, it is also important to take into consideration social determinants of health (SDOH) for patients admitted with this condition, an area more and more CDI professionals are getting involved in.

The study found those admitted with cannabis poisoning with additional mental health disorders to be more likely to experience economic hardship, so note SDOHs that would fall into these categories, such as Z59.8, Other problems related to housing and economic circumstances, or Z56.9, Unspecified problems related to employment.

Editor’s note: To read the full study, click here. To learn more about SDOH and CDI’s role, click here. The November/December edition of the CDI Journal will include an article on the topic of SDOH as well; members should be on the lookout for the edition on or about November 1.