Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T04:05:54.376Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Pooled Urine Analysis at a Belgian Music Festival: Trends in Alcohol Consumption and Recreational Drug Use

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 September 2022

Marjolein Geuens ,
Kathleen Van Hoofstadt ,
Olivier Hoogmartens Open the ORCID record for Olivier Hoogmartens [Opens in a new window] ,
Nele Van den Eede  and
Marc Sabbe Open the ORCID record for Marc Sabbe [Opens in a new window]
Marjolein Geuens
Affiliation:
Emergency Department, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Kathleen Van Hoofstadt
Affiliation:
Emergency Department, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Olivier Hoogmartens
Affiliation:
Emergency Department, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Nele Van den Eede
Affiliation:
Laboratory Medicine, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Marc Sabbe*
Affiliation:
Emergency Department, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
*
Correspondence: Marc Sabbe Emergency Department, University Hospitals Leuven Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium E-mail: Marc.sabbe@uzleuven.be
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background:

Recreational drug use has become more and more accepted in society. Availability and purity are rising and new psychoactive substances (NPS) are popping up.

The aim of this study was to provide objective data on illicit drug use at a Belgian festival in order to report on arising trends. This may provide additional information to help develop preventive strategies.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study took place during a music festival in the summer of 2019, where 43 samples of pooled urine were collected at four different locations and at different moments of the day. Analysis was performed using gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector (GC-FID) to determine ethanol concentrations. Drugs of abuse were quantified using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. A qualitative analysis was performed using high-resolution mass spectrometry.

Results:

Median ethanol concentration was 0.88g/L. Cocaine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), amphetamines, ketamine, and cannabis were detected in almost every sample and often in high concentrations. Furthermore, two NPS were detected and a variety of over-the-counter medication and adulterants were also found.

Discussion:

The findings were largely in-line with trends outlined in the European Drug Report. Striking were the relatively high concentrations of MDMA and ketamine and detection of two synthetic cathinones. Two possible adulterants of cocaine were detected, namely flecainide and amlodipine.

Conclusion:

Music festivals are considered a high-risk setting for alcohol consumption and illicit drug use. Analysis of pooled urine samples at a festival therefore provides a valuable method to evaluate trends and to screen for new substances. Wide-spread use of classical drugs and identification of two NPS were observed during a major international music festival in Belgium. Results need to be interpreted carefully, taking into account the possibilities and limitations of the used techniques and a standardized sampling is required.

Keywords

alcohol usedrug testingmusic festivalspooled urinerecreational drug use
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 37 , Issue 6 , December 2022 , pp. 806 - 809
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

European Monitoring Centre for Drugs Addiction European Drug Report 2019 and 2020: Trends and Development. Publication Office of the European Union, Luxemburg; 2020. https://www.emcdda.europa.eu. Accessed June 2022.Google Scholar
Bolier, L, Voorham, L, Monshouwer, K, Van Hasselt, N, Bellis, M. Alcohol and drug prevention in nightlife settings: a review of experimental studies. Subst Use Misuse. 2011;46(13):1569–1591.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hoegberg, L, Christiansen, C, Soe, J, et al. Recreational drug use at a major music festival: trend analysis of anonymized pooled urine. Clin Toxicol. 2018;56(4):245–255.Google Scholar
Bijlsma, L, Celma, A, Castiglioni, S, et al. Monitoring psychoactive substance use at six European festivals through wastewater and pooled urine analysis. Sci Total Environ. 2020;725:138376.Google ScholarPubMed
Gjerde, H, Gjersing, L, Baz-Lomba, JA, et al. Drug use by music festival attendees: a novel triangulation approach using self-reported data and test results of oral fluid and pooled urine samples. Subst Use Misuse. 2019;54(14):2317–2327.Google ScholarPubMed
Jones, A. Urine as a biological specimen for forensic analysis of alcohol and variability in the urine-to-blood relationship. Toxicol Rev. 2006;25(1):15–35.Google ScholarPubMed
Harris, D, Everhart, E, Medelson, J, Jones, R. The pharmacology of coca ethylene in humans following cocaine and ethanol administration. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2003;72(2):169–182.Google ScholarPubMed
Hamilton, H, Wallace, J, Shimek, E, et al. Cocaine and benzoylecgonine excretion in humans. J Forensic Sci. 1977;22(4):697–707.Google ScholarPubMed
Puet, BL, Claussen, K, Hild, C, Heltsley, R, Schwope, DM. Presence of parent cocaine in the absence of benzoylecgonine in urine. J Anal Toxicol. 2018;42(8):512–517.Google ScholarPubMed
Gjersing, L, Bretteville-Jensen, AL, Furuhaugen, H, Gjerde, H. Illegal substance use among 1,309 music festival attendees: an investigation using oral fluid sample drug tests, breathalyzers, and questionnaires. Scand J Public Health. 2019;47(4):400–407.Google Scholar
Cole, C, Jones, L, McVeigh, J, Kickman, A, Syed, Q. Adulterants in illicit drugs: a review of empirical evidence. Drug Test Anal. 2011;3(2):89–96.Google ScholarPubMed
Malcolm, R, Liao, J, Michel, M, et al. Amlodipine reduces blood pressure and headache frequency in cocaine-dependent outpatients. J Psychoactive Drugs. 2002;34(4):415–419.Google ScholarPubMed
Wood, D, Dargan, P, Hoffman, R. Management of cocaine-induced cardiac arrhythmias due to cardiac ion channel dysfunction. Clin Toxicol. 2009;47(1):14–23.Google ScholarPubMed
Supplementary material: File

Geuens et al. supplementary material

Table S2

Download Geuens et al. supplementary material(File)
File 80 KB
Supplementary material: File

Geuens et al. supplementary material

Table S3

Download Geuens et al. supplementary material(File)
File 97.7 KB