Hospital and emergency services data – EMCDDA commissioned study 2009 (contract CT.16.IBS.0156.1.0)

Recreational drug use is common in Europe, however there is no systematic collection of data on acute recreational drug toxicity. The EMCDDA held an expert meeting in November 2007 to explore ‘the use of health emergency data to help detect, track and understand emerging drug trends’. The lead investigators were awarded a contract to undertake a feasibility study in two different member states to explore methods for collecting this data in two different units in busy nightlife areas.

The lead centre (Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK) identified a partner centre (Hospital Son Dureta, Palma, Mallorca) to participate in this study. A data collection tool was designed to collect data prospectively on all cases presenting to the two centres with acute recreational drug toxicity in June and July 2009. This report details the collation and analysis of this data and the differences between the centres (types of recreational drugs used, place of drug use, home location of individuals presenting and patterns of acute toxicity seen).

A round table discussion was held with key stakeholders in the local community of both centres. This was a useful forum and could serve as a platform for developing strategies for dealing with issues associated with acute recreational drug toxicity.

We have shown it is feasible to collect and collate data to help detect and look at differences in acute recreational drug toxicity in different member states. Further studies building on this feasibility study methodology and extending both the number of centres to areas where the epidemiology of drug use is different and the duration of data collection would be of value to the EMCDDA. This would allow identification of seasonal and geographical differences in acute recreational drug toxicity and help to identify emerging trends in recreational drug use and acute toxicity across Europe.