PMID- 14759969
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20040609
LR  - 20131121
IS  - 1069-6563 (Print)
IS  - 1069-6563 (Linking)
VI  - 11
IP  - 2
DP  - 2004 Feb
TI  - Shedding new light on the "safe" club drug: methylenedioxymethamphetamine 
      (ecstasy)-related fatalities.
PG  - 208-10
AB  - OBJECTIVES: To report the pathology, toxicology, cause, and manner of death in 
      3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-associated fatalities in the United 
      States. Although use trends are increasing, data regarding the hazards of MDMA 
      are limited. METHODS: The authors obtained fatality reports from participating 
      medical examiners in the United States. Cases were identified as "drug-unrelated" 
      when MDMA did not directly cause death (e.g., motor vehicle collision); deaths 
      from drug toxicity were judged "drug-related." RESULTS: Thirty-eight (8%) of the 
      surveyed medical examiners reported 102 deaths associated with MDMA use from 1999 
      to 2001. Ten percent of fatalities occurred in 1999 and 90% thereafter, 
      representing a 400% relative increase. Victims tended to be young (mean age = 
      25), white (n = 87 [85%]), male (n = 70 [69%]), and otherwise healthy. 
      Seventy-one (70%) deaths were drug-related (DR) and 31 (30%) were drug-unrelated 
      (DU). Twenty-four (35%) DR deaths had a mean delay of 6.7 hours (95% CI = 5.1 to 
      8.2) in activating emergency medical services. Fifty-five DR cases (81%) were 
      found in asystole and pronounced dead at the scene. CONCLUSIONS: The 
      MDMA-associated fatal events typically occur in young, otherwise healthy 
      individuals. MDMA's impact on the public health and safety of young adults and 
      teenagers needs further assessment.
FAU - Patel, Manish M
AU  - Patel MM
AD  - Department of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, 
      GA 30333, USA. mmpatel@emory.edu
FAU - Wright, David W
AU  - Wright DW
FAU - Ratcliff, Jonathan J
AU  - Ratcliff JJ
FAU - Miller, Michael A
AU  - Miller MA
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - United States
TA  - Acad Emerg Med
JT  - Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic 
      Emergency Medicine
JID - 9418450
RN  - KE1SEN21RM (N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine)
SB  - IM
MH  - Adolescent
MH  - Adult
MH  - Alcohol Drinking/*epidemiology
MH  - Amphetamine-Related Disorders/*mortality
MH  - *Cause of Death
MH  - Cohort Studies
MH  - Comorbidity
MH  - Emergency Medical Services/*statistics & numerical data
MH  - Female
MH  - Humans
MH  - Male
MH  - N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine/*poisoning
MH  - Retrospective Studies
MH  - Substance-Related Disorders/*mortality
MH  - United States/epidemiology
EDAT- 2004/02/05 05:00
MHDA- 2004/06/21 10:00
CRDT- 2004/02/05 05:00
PHST- 2004/02/05 05:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2004/06/21 10:00 [medline]
PHST- 2004/02/05 05:00 [entrez]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Acad Emerg Med. 2004 Feb;11(2):208-10.