• Rebekka Syrjanen, Jennifer Schumann, John Fitzgerald, Dimitri Gerostamoulos, Rachelle Abouchedid, Joe-Anthony Rotella, Jonathan Knott, Jacqueline Maplesden, Hans Hollerer, Liam Hannon, Elyssia Bourke, Sarah E Hodgson, and Shaun L Greene.
• Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
• Emerg Med Australas. 2023 Feb 1; 35 (1): 828882-88.

ObjectivesWith an increasingly dynamic global illicit drug market, including the emergence of novel psychoactive substances, many jurisdictions have moved to establish toxicosurveillance systems to enable timely detection of harmful substances in the community. This paper describes the methodology for the Emerging Drugs Network of Australia - Victoria (EDNAV) project, a clinical registry focused on the collection of high-quality clinical and analytical data from ED presentations involving illicit drug intoxications. Drug intelligence collected from the project is utilised by local health authorities with the aim to identify patterns of drug use and emerging drugs of concern.MethodsThe project involves 10 public hospital EDs in Victoria, Australia. Patients 16 years and over, presenting to a network ED with a suspected illicit drug-related toxicity and a requirement for venepuncture are eligible for inclusion in the study under a waiver of consent. Clinical and demographic parameters are documented by site-based clinicians and comprehensive toxicological analysis is conducted on patient blood samples via specialised forensic services. All data are then deidentified and compiled in a project specific database.ResultsCases are discussed in weekly multidisciplinary team meetings, with a view to identify potentially harmful substances circulating in the community. High-risk signals are escalated to key stakeholders to produce timely and proportionate public health alerts with a focus on harm minimisation.ConclusionsThe EDNAV project represents the first centralised system providing near real-time monitoring of community drug use in Victoria and is fundamental in facilitating evidence-based public health intervention.© 2022 Australasian College for Emergency Medicine.

13 keywords...

hide…