Martin Dutch - Festival Medicine and Severe Serotonin/Sympathomimetic Toxicity

The Tox Course Podcast

In this episode we talk to Dr Martin Dutch, Emergency Physician and one of the most experienced doctors in Australia in the emerging field of "mass gathering medicine" (or as we like to call it "festival medicine"!). Martin gives us an in-depth view of how medical care at music festivals has evolved over the last two decades, then we take a deep dive into the management of one of the scariest medical conditions Emergency care providers can be faced with: the young, severely hyperthermic, critically unwell serotonergic/sympathomimetic toxicity patient. This is a sphincter-tightening situation for even the most experienced clinicians, and Martin walks us through his approach on how to successfully manage and then safely transport these patients from festival to hospital. This is a must-listen episode for anyone who may treat substance affected patients, and could literally help you one-day save a life that hangs in the balance.

References:

Martin and his team have published a case series of these patients, it's a fascinating read: Characteristics, presentation and outcomes of music festival patrons with stimulant drug-induced serotonin toxicity.

A more sobering read on music festival related deaths in Australia was also published recently: Drug-related deaths at Australian music festivals.

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