Home > Emergencies related to cocaine use: a European multicentre study of expert interviews.

de Millas, Walter and Haasen, Christian and Reimer, Jens and Eiroa-Orosa, Francisco Jose and Schaefer, Ingo (2010) Emergencies related to cocaine use: a European multicentre study of expert interviews. European Journal of Emergency Medicine, 17, (1), pp. 33-6. https://doi.org/10.1097/mej.0b013e32832d0476.

Illicit drug use can lead to acute reverse reactions leading to the admission to emergency departments. Cocaine-related emergencies have been monitored in the USA, but not in Europe so far.

The study investigates patterns of cocaine emergencies in eight European cities in a multicentre cross-sectional study conducted in Barcelona, Budapest, Dublin, Hamburg, London, Rome, Vienna and Zurich. The reported frequency differs from city to city, with some emergency centres having less than one case per half year, and some centres having more than one case per month. Patterns of complaints among cocaine users are associated with the psychomotor-stimulant or cardiovascular effects of cocaine. Urine screens and referrals to the addiction services are infrequent.

A closer link between the emergency departments and addiction services would help in guiding problematic drug users towards appropriate treatment at an earlier stage in the addiction process.


Item Type
Article
Publication Type
Irish-related, International, Article
Drug Type
Cocaine
Date
February 2010
Identification #
https://doi.org/10.1097/mej.0b013e32832d0476
Page Range
pp. 33-6
Publisher
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Volume
17
Number
1
EndNote
Accession Number
HRB (Not in collection)
Related (external) link

Click here to request a copy of this literature

Repository Staff Only: item control page