PMID- 29284546
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20180831
LR  - 20191210
IS  - 1945-1938 (Electronic)
IS  - 1049-023X (Linking)
VI  - 33
IP  - 1
DP  - 2018 Feb
TI  - Medical Emergencies Related to Ethanol and Illicit Drugs at an Annual, Nocturnal, 
      Indoor, Electronic Dance Music Event.
PG  - 71-76
LID - 10.1017/S1049023X17007099 [doi]
AB  - Introduction Medical problems are frequently encountered during electronic dance 
      music (EDM) events. Problem There are uncertainties about the frequencies and 
      severity of intoxications with different types of recreational drugs: ethanol, 
      "classical" illicit party drugs, and new psychoactive substances (NPS). METHODS: 
      Statistical data on the medical problems encountered during two editions of an 
      indoor electronic dance event with around 30,000 attendants were retrieved from 
      the Belgian Red Cross (Mechelen, Belgium) database. Data on drug use were 
      prospectively collected from the patient (or a bystander), the clinical 
      presentation, and/or toxicological screening. RESULTS: In the on-site medical 
      station, 487 patients were treated (265 in 2013 and 222 in 2014). The most 
      frequent reasons were trauma (n=171), headache (n=36), gastro-intestinal problems 
      (n=44), and intoxication (n=160). Sixty-nine patients were transferred to a 
      hospital, including 53 with severe drug-related symptoms. Analysis of blood 
      samples from 106 intoxicated patients detected ethanol in 91.5%, 
      3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in 34.0%, cannabis in 30.2%, cocaine in 
      7.5%, amphetamine in 2.8%, and gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) in 0.9% of 
      patients (alone or in combination). In only six of the MDMA-positive cases, MDMA 
      was the sole substance found. In 2014, the neuroleptic drug clozapine was found 
      in three cases and ketamine in one. Additional analyses for NPS were performed in 
      20 cases. Only in one agitated patient, the psychedelic phenethylamines 25B-NBOMe 
      and 25C-NBOMe were found. CONCLUSIONS: At this particular event, recreational 
      drug abuse necessitated on-site medical treatment in one out of 350 attendants 
      and a hospital transfer in one out of 1,000. Ethanol remains the most frequently 
      abused (legal) drug, yet classical illicit recreational drugs are also frequently 
      (co-) ingested. The most worrying observation was high-risk poly-drug use, 
      especially among MDMA users. Regarding NPS, the number of cases was low and the 
      clinical presentations were rather mild. It should be stressed that these 
      observations only apply to this particular event and cannot be generalized to 
      other EDM events. Calle P , Sundahl N , Maudens K , Wille SMR , Van Sassenbroeck 
      D , De Graeve K , Gogaert S , De Paepe P , Devriese D , Arno G , Blanckaert P . 
      Medical emergencies related to ethanol and illicit drugs at an annual, nocturnal, 
      indoor, electronic dance music event. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2018;33(1):71-76.
FAU - Calle, Paul
AU  - Calle P
AD  - 1Ghent University,Ghent,Belgium.
FAU - Sundahl, Nora
AU  - Sundahl N
AD  - 1Ghent University,Ghent,Belgium.
FAU - Maudens, Kristof
AU  - Maudens K
AD  - 3Toxicological Centre,University of Antwerp,Antwerp,Belgium.
FAU - Wille, Sarah Mr
AU  - Wille SM
AD  - 4National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology,Brussels,Belgium.
FAU - Van Sassenbroeck, Diederik
AU  - Van Sassenbroeck D
AD  - 2Emergency Department,General Hospital Maria Middelares,Ghent,Belgium.
FAU - De Graeve, Koen
AU  - De Graeve K
AD  - 5Emergency Department,General Hospital Jan Palfijn,Ghent,Belgium.
FAU - Gogaert, Stefan
AU  - Gogaert S
AD  - 6Belgian Red Cross,Mechelen,Belgium.
FAU - De Paepe, Peter
AU  - De Paepe P
AD  - 1Ghent University,Ghent,Belgium.
FAU - Devriese, Dieter
AU  - Devriese D
AD  - 8Emergency Department,General Hospital Saint Lucas,Ghent,Belgium.
FAU - Arno, Geert
AU  - Arno G
AD  - 9Federal Public Service Health,Food Chain Safety and 
      Environment,Brussels,Belgium.
FAU - Blanckaert, Peter
AU  - Blanckaert P
AD  - 10Belgian Early Warning System on Drugs,Scientific Institute of Public 
      Health,Brussels,Belgium.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20171229
PL  - United States
TA  - Prehosp Disaster Med
JT  - Prehospital and disaster medicine
JID - 8918173
RN  - 0 (Illicit Drugs)
MH  - Adolescent
MH  - Adult
MH  - Alcohol Drinking/*epidemiology
MH  - Belgium
MH  - Crowding
MH  - *Dancing
MH  - Emergencies
MH  - Emergency Medical Services/*organization & administration
MH  - Female
MH  - Humans
MH  - Illicit Drugs/*adverse effects
MH  - Incidence
MH  - Male
MH  - Recreation
MH  - Risk Assessment
MH  - Substance Abuse Detection
MH  - Substance-Related Disorders/diagnosis/epidemiology/*therapy
MH  - Treatment Outcome
MH  - Young Adult
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - EDM electronic dance music
OT  - GC-MS gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
OT  - GHB gamma-hydroxybutyric acid
OT  - HPLC high-performance liquid chromatographic
OT  - ILT I LOVE TECHNO
OT  - MDMA 3
OT  - NPS new psychoactive substances
OT  - THC tetrahydrocannabinol
OT  - 3
OT  - 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine
OT  - 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)
OT  - ethanol
OT  - illicit drugs
OT  - mass gatherings
OT  - rave party
EDAT- 2017/12/30 06:00
MHDA- 2018/09/01 06:00
CRDT- 2017/12/30 06:00
PHST- 2017/12/30 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2018/09/01 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2017/12/30 06:00 [entrez]
AID - S1049023X17007099 [pii]
AID - 10.1017/S1049023X17007099 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Prehosp Disaster Med. 2018 Feb;33(1):71-76. doi: 10.1017/S1049023X17007099. Epub 
      2017 Dec 29.