Doctors issue party drug warning
Melbourne doctors are warning of the risk of death from the illicit drug, GHB, ahead of a big dance party at the Royal Melbourne showgrounds this weekend.
About 45,000 revellers are expected at the festival, where police made more than 80 drug-related arrests, last year.
St Vincent's Hospital Emergency Department physician, Dr Jonty Karro, says there has been an increase in patients needing intensive care after overdosing on GHB in recent weeks.
Doctors at the hospital have treated 20 young people who used GHB in the past three weeks, including nine on one single weekend. Five patients needed to be put on life support.
Dr Karro says GHB, or Gammahydroxybutyric Acid (often also referred to as GBH), is a highly toxic, illegal anaesthetic which can quickly lead to a comatose state. Users who fall into a coma could die if they do not receive urgent medical attention.
"They are deeply asleep, we cannot wake them up, they might be vomiting at the same time which puts them at particular risk of the vomit going down into their airwaves and causing serious breathing problems," Dr Karro said.
"Patients also have seizures and they get a low heart rate which can be life threatening," he said.
"We don't want someone to come to terrible harm, we don't want that to happen to families. We want people to know they can seek care and that we are here to look after them if they need us," Dr Karro said.
There have been 10 deaths from GHB in Australia in recent years and doctors fear the recent spike of overdoses in Melbourne indicates current batches of the drug may be stronger or contain more harmful substances.
"We are concerned that this drug does cause such profound coma and that we've seen this particular spike," Dr Karro said.
The hospital warns that the drug appears to have found favour with younger people, notably the 16-30 year old age group. Doctors urge people to be extra careful and vigilant during celebrations in the lead up to Christmas.
The hospital says evidence from the Emergency Department suggests people are taking multiple illicit substances at the same time as well as mixing drugs with alcohol.
So-called "polysubstance" abuse is a common cause of hospitalisation and doctors say it can dramatically increase the chance of serious injury or death.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-30/doctors-issue-party-drug-warning/4401656