The Emerging Drugs Network of Australia (EDNA) brings together emergency physicians, toxicologists and forensic laboratories, with assistance from existing specialist networks such as state poisons information centres, the Toxicology And Poisons Network Australasia, and the Toxicology Specialist Advisory Group. EDNA will build a national toxicosurveillance system of illicit and emerging drugs involved in emergency department presentations, including their clinical effects, treatment approaches and outcomes.
The EDNA investigator team aims to:
Develop standardised testing protocols with high sensitivity to identify new and emerging Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS), detect changes in patterns of use and identify highly toxic psychoactive substances;
Determine clinical patterns of toxicity associated with the illicit drugs and NPS involved in ED presentations, and how these relate to outcomes, including resource implications.
Support localised early warning systems (EWS) responses in each state by sharing clinical and toxicological information across key agencies to inform public health and harm reduction policy.
Blood analysis of intoxicated patients will be conducted by lead forensic laboratories in each state to enable precise identification of the substances causing acute toxicity. This will be linked with clinical data collected at the time of ED presentation to enable analysis of the clinical effects and outcomes associated with different illicit and emerging drugs.
National analysis and reporting structures will allow high quality Australia-wide data to be produced and to inform users, clinicians and health and government bodies regarding new and emerging drugs of concern and their clinical effects. Close collaboration between lead clinicians in each state and their local forensic laboratory will enable rapid detection and reporting of harmful illicit and emerging drugs while they are still in circulation.
An NCCRED Seed Grant in 2019 provided funding for a national research project coordinator to develop the research infrastructure, collaborations and study methodology for EDNA going forward. In 2020, the national EDNA collaboration was awarded a five-year NHMRC Ideas Grant.
Dr Andrew Kozman was awarded a clinical research fellowship with the seed funding grant.
Investigators
Clinical Leads
- Prof Daniel Fatovich (WA)
- Dr Jessamine Soderstrom (WA)
- Dr David McCutcheon (WA)
- A/Prof Sam Alfred (SA)
- A/Prof Shaun Greene (VIC)
- Prof Andrew Dawson (NSW)
- Dr Katherine Isoardi (QLD)
- Dr Viet Tran (TAS)
Toxicology / Laboratory Leads
- Dr Francois Oosthuizen (WA)
- Peter Stockham (SA)
- A/Prof Dimitri Gerostamoulos (VIC)
- Catherine McDonald (NSW)
- Natalie MacCormick (QLD)
- Mark Stevenson (QLD)
- Craig Gardner (TAS)
Research and Translation
- Prof Nadine Ezard (NSW)
- Prof Christopher Reid (WA)
- Dr Jennifer Smith (WA)
- Dr Sally Burrows (WA)
- Prof Elizabeth Geelhoed (WA)
Consumer Representative
- Paul Dessauer (WA)
Publications
The EDNA project was awarded an NHMRC Ideas Grant in 2020 - Emerging Drugs Network of Australia: a coordinated toxicosurveillance system of illicit drug use in Australia to enable rapid detection and harm reduction responses via an Early Warning System - led by Professor Daniel Fatovich
Presentations
Dr Jessamine Soderstrom, Royal Perth Hospital: Harm Minimisation and the power of shared data in saving lives
Dr Jessamine Soderstrom, Royal Perth Hospital: Drugs of Abuse
Dr Jessamine Soderstrom, Royal Perth Hospital: Metamphetamines in the ED
Dr Jessamine Soderstrom, Royal Perth Hospital: Emerging Drug Network of Australia
Dr Jessamine Soderstrom, Royal Perth Hospital: Emerging Drug Network of Australia
Dr Ben Lasscock, Royal Perth Hospital: Opioid use within the EDNA database – preliminary results
Dr Jessamine Soderstrom, Royal Perth Hospital: Emerging Drug Network of Australia
Jennifer Smith, Royal Perth Hospital: When clinical evidence and public health strategies collide: the future of toxicosurveillance in Australia
Dr Andrew Kozman, Royal Perth Hospital: EDNA: the challenges of a vision
Daniel Fatovich, Jessamine Soderstrom, Jenny McCloskey, Royal Perth Hospital: Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll: coming of age in the COVID-19 era
Jennifer Smith, Royal Perth Hospital: “Brevity of data will take precedence”: evolution of a national minimum dataset of illicit and emerging drugs in the emergency department
Dr Andrew Kozman, Royal Perth Hospital: The implementation of the Recreational Drug Intoxication Protocol
Media
Policy Changes or Departmental Submissions
Submission to the NSW Coroner in regards to EDNA and the WA Illicit Substances Evaluation
Clinical guidelines for the management of ED patients presenting with recreational drug intoxication have been endorsed by five WA hospital sites. These guidelines include standardised protocols for blood collection, storage, and analysis to identify specific drugs causing harm.
- Fiona Stanley Hospital (2019)
- Royal Perth Hospital (2020)
- Rockingham General Hospital (2020)
- Armadale Hospital (2021)
- Bunbury Regional Hospital (2021)