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Smith JL, Soderstrom J, Dawson A, et al. The Emerging Drugs Network of Australia: A toxicosurveillance system of illicit and emerging drugs in the emergency department. Emerg Med Australas. 2021;34(1):58-64doi: 10.1111/1742-6723.13839.
Smith, J. L., Soderstrom, J., Dawson, A., Alfred, S., Greene, S., Isoardi, K., McCutcheon, D., Oosthuizen, F., Ezard, N., Burcham, J., Fatovich, D. M. (2022). The Emerging Drugs Network of Australia: A toxicosurveillance system of illicit and emerging drugs in the emergency department. Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA, 34(1), 58-64. https://doi.org/10.1111/1742-6723.13839
Smith, Jennifer L, et al. "The Emerging Drugs Network of Australia: A toxicosurveillance system of illicit and emerging drugs in the emergency department." Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA vol. 34,1 (2022): 58-64. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/1742-6723.13839
Smith JL, Soderstrom J, Dawson A, Alfred S, Greene S, Isoardi K, McCutcheon D, Oosthuizen F, Ezard N, Burcham J, Fatovich DM. The Emerging Drugs Network of Australia: A toxicosurveillance system of illicit and emerging drugs in the emergency department. Emerg Med Australas. 2022 Feb;34(1):58-64. doi: 10.1111/1742-6723.13839. Epub 2021 Aug 12. PMID: 34382338.
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Emerg Med Australas. 2022 Feb;34(1):58-64. doi: 10.1111/1742-6723.13839. Epub 2021 Aug 12.

The Emerging Drugs Network of Australia: A toxicosurveillance system of illicit and emerging drugs in the emergency department.

Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA

Jennifer L Smith, Jessamine Soderstrom, Andrew Dawson, Sam Alfred, Shaun Greene, Katherine Isoardi, David McCutcheon, Francois Oosthuizen, Nadine Ezard, Jonathon Burcham, Daniel M Fatovich,

Affiliations

  1. Centre for Clinical Research in Emergency Medicine, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
  2. East Metropolitan Health Service, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
  3. Emergency Department, Royal Perth Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
  4. Emergency Medicine, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
  5. NSW Poisons Information Centre, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
  6. Central Clinical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
  7. Emergency Department, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
  8. Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
  9. Emergency Department, Austin Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
  10. Victorian Poisons Information Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
  11. Melbourne Medical School, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
  12. Clinical Toxicology Unit, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
  13. Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
  14. ChemCentre WA, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
  15. Alcohol and Drug Service, St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
  16. Faculty of Medicine, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
  17. National Centre for Clinical Research in Emerging Drugs, c/o National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

PMID: 34382338 DOI: 10.1111/1742-6723.13839

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The unprecedented rise in synthetic drugs, many containing unknown toxic agents, has made timely analytical diagnosis more difficult, and has reduced the confidence of clinicians providing ED management to this population of patients. This has also impacted the quality of evidence informing harm reduction responses. The Emerging Drugs Network of Australia (EDNA) brings together emergency physicians, toxicologists and forensic laboratories to establish a standardised ED toxicosurveillance system in Australia.

METHODS: Blood analysis of intoxicated patients will be conducted by forensic laboratories to enable precise identification of the substances causing acute toxicity. This will be linked with clinical data collected at the time of ED presentation to enable analysis of the clinical effects and outcomes associated with different illicit and emerging drugs. Toxicological and clinical data collected across sentinel sites will align with a nationally endorsed minimum dataset.

RESULTS: EDNA's collaborative network will establish a national system of surveillance and reporting of illicit and emerging drugs causing acute toxicity. Standardisation of data collection recorded in a national clinical registry will provide more robust data on epidemiology and associated harms. This will facilitate the translation of clinical and toxicological evidence into timely, appropriate harm reduction and policy.

CONCLUSION: Our work represents a collaborative response to calls for more sophisticated data on emerging drug trends in Australia. EDNA will improve coordination between clinicians and analytical services by way of its standardised approach to surveillance and reporting.

© 2021 Australasian College for Emergency Medicine.

Keywords: emergency medicine; harm reduction; illicit drug use; novel psychoactive substances; toxicology

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