CLINICAL toxicologists in Queensland have reported that overdoses from recreational drugs have increased over the last 10 years, with methamphetamine intoxication taking over from paracetamol to become the most common toxicological presentation at the Emergency Department.
The team from Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane reviewed over 20,000 cases managed in its Clinical Toxicology Unit between 15 May 2014, shortly after the unit was established, and 14 May 2024.
Deliberate self-poisonings made up the majority of presentations at the start of the study period, with paracetamol, diazepam and quetiapine being the most common exposures.
However, presentations related to recreational poisonings overtook deliberate self-poisonings as the most common toxicological exposures during the 10 years, with methamphetamine, heroin and gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB)the most commonly used agents.
Methamphetamine intoxication rose from 158 in 2014 to 717 in 2024, while GHB rose from eight in 2015 to 181 in 2023.
The most common treatment was sedation.
The team noted that the rise in methamphetamine intoxications mirrors country-wide observations of increasing rates of amphetamine dependence, frequency of methamphetamine use and volume of drug border seizures.
"Australia-wide, methamphetamine is the second most common agent implicated in drug-related hospitalisations behind only alcohol, with rising deaths from both methamphetamine poisoning and cardiovascular disease in methamphetamine users," the team wrote.
Read the paper HERE.
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