Study assesses outcomes for meth users with burn injures

Researchers were surprised to find that methamphetamine use is not linked with worse health outcomes among burn patients, but was associated with significantly worse discharge conditions for meth-positive patients. Meth-positive patients suffered worse injuries and stayed longer in hospital than meth-negative patients. Also, more meth-positive patients left the hospital against medical advice and fewer had access to support such as skilled nursing facilities. They did worse in every measure of socioeconomic status.