SODAS: Surveillance of Drugs of Abuse Study

Lowe, D. J. , Torrance, H. , Ireland, A., Bloeck, F. and Stevenson, R. (2017) SODAS: Surveillance of Drugs of Abuse Study. European Journal of Emergency Medicine, 24(2), pp. 126-129. (doi: 10.1097/MEJ.0000000000000310) (PMID:26313317)

Abstract

Objective: Novel Psychoactive Substance (NPS) as a form of recreational drug use has become increasingly popular. There is a paucity of information with regards the prevalence and clinical sequalae of these drugs. The aim of this study was to detect NPS in patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) with suspected toxicological ingestion. Methods: The prospective study was performed in a large Emergency Department (ED) in the UK. During a three month period eighty patients were identified by clinicians as having potentially ingested a toxicological agent. Urine sample were analysed using liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry and basic clinical data was gathered. Results: 80 patients with a history of illicit or recreational drug consumption had urine screenings performed. 49% (39) of patients undergoing a screen had more than one illicit substance detected. 20% (16) of patients tested positive for at least one NPS. Conclusions: Almost half of patients presenting had ingestion of multiple substances which correlated poorly with self reporting of patients. Developing enhanced strategies to monitor evolving drug trends is crucial to the ability of clinicians to deliver care to this challenging group of patients.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Ireland, Mr Alastair and Lowe, Dr David and Torrance, Dr Hazel
• Authors: Lowe, D. J., Torrance, H., Ireland, A., Bloeck, F., and Stevenson, R.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing
• Journal Name: European Journal of Emergency Medicine
• Publisher: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
• ISSN: 0969-9546
• ISSN (Online): 1473-5695
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2017 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.
• First Published: First published in European Journal of Emergency Medicine 24(2):126-129
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.