Objective:
Hospitals frequently receive inquiries from individuals concerned about potential exposure to drink spiking, which involves the administration of drugs without their knowledge or consent.
This study aimed to identify drugs in the blood and urine samples of patients who suspected drink spiking, focusing specifically on unreported drugs not disclosed by the patients.
Methods:
Researchers collected blood and urine samples over a 8 month period from patients aged 16 years or older who presented at an emergency clinic in Oslo, Norway, within 48 hours of suspected drink spiking exposure. The researchers also gathered information on ethanol consumption and drug use.
They analysed blood samples for 20 common recreational drugs using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) and detected ethanol with an automated enzymatic method.
They tested urine samples using immunoassay methods and a specific gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) method to detect gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB).
Results:
They collected 100 blood samples and 72 urine samples from 100 patients (median age 24 years, 62 females) who were concerned about potential exposure to drink spiking. The median time since exposure was 5 hours.
15 patients had unreported drugs detected.
In the blood samples, unreported drugs included clonazepam in 3 cases, methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in 3, amphetamine in 2, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in 2, tramadol in 1, cocaine in 1, and methamphetamine in 1.
The urine samples revealed unreported drugs. Cocaine appeared in 5 cases. Amphetamine was found in 4 cases. Researchers detected ecstasy in 3 cases. Cannabis was present in 2 cases.
69 patients tested positive for ethanol; moreover, all of them reported consuming it. The median blood ethanol concentration was higher in patients without unreported drugs; in contrast, patients with unreported drugs had lower ethanol levels.
No samples showed traces of GHB
Conclusion:
To conclude, the researchers found unreported drugs, potentially indicating drink spiking, in 15% of the patients. Patients without unreported drugs showed higher blood ethanol concentrations. The results also showed that GHB was not detected in any patient.
