October 10, 2001
Club Drug Backgrounder:
Emergency Department Study Findings
Patients between the ages of 15 through 30 who registered in the Emergency
Departments of the UHN between 22:00 and 10:00 during June and July 2000
were surveyed. They were asked whether they had used Ecstasy (MDMA), GHB,
Ketamine, or other drugs within the past 24 hours. This study was approved
by the hospital research ethics board; participation was voluntary and
all data kept confidential. Data was collected on 183 patients.
Results
10.4 % of the population reported using Ecstasy, GHB, or Ketamine within
the past 24 hours.
19.1 % of the population reported having used Ecstasy, GHB, Ketamine
or alcohol within the past 24 hours.
Polypharmacy (described as use of more than one drug in past 24 hours)
was reported at least 50 % of the time. Ecstasy users reported use of
another drug (including alcohol) 50 % of the time.
GHB users reported use of another drug (including alcohol) 90 % of the
time
Arrival by ambulance was more prevalent among those reporting use of
club drugs than those who did not. 78 % of GHB users, 42 % of Ecstasy
users, and 46 % of ethanol users arrived by ambulance, compared with 17.5
% of the base population.
Those reporting use of GHB, MDMA (ecstasy) or were like to have attended
the emergency department for reasons relating to substance abuse or physical
injury.
Impressions:
The high incidence of use of several drugs, and / or combination of club
drugs with alcohol suggests need for greater awareness regarding hazards
of combining these drugs.
Club drug users and ethanol users tended to arrive more frequently by
ambulance than the general population and to have longer stays than the
general population. Arrival by paramedic and length of stay in the emergency
department were viewed by the researcher as correlates of illness severity
and emergency department resource utilization.
S.M. Friedman MD(Tor), MPH(Harv), CCFP(EM)
Chief, Undergraduate Education,
Emergency Medicine, University Health Network
Assistant Professor, University of Toronto
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