Hywel Hughes, Rachael Peters, Gareth Davies, Keith Griffiths

A study of patients presenting to an emergency department having had a "spiked drink"
Emerg Med J 2007; 24: 89-91 [Abstract] [Full text] [PDF]

sam{at}aljafari.co.uk Sam Al-Jafari

The study of alledged victims of drink 'spiking' by Hughes et al raises a few issues not addressed in their paper. I note that of the 8 patients who tested positive for drugs of misuse, not a single one tested positive for a tradition 'date rape' drug such as Ketamine, Rohypnol or GHB. One possible explanation is that the drugs, including amphetamines, ecstasy, cocaine and opiates, were knowingly taken by the patients. On realising that they were suffering from ill effects, rather than admitting that they had knowingly taken illicit substances for fear of repercussions, they may have used 'spiking' as an excuse. Although 14% of the total number of patients in the study contacted the police, I would be interested to know what percentage of those who tested positive for drugs actually reported the alledged 'spiking' to the police as this would give a clearer indication of the true incidence.