Rising Kawasaki disease incidence in New Zealand: analysis of national population incidence and outcomes 2000-2017.

Objective: The recent epidemiology of Kawasaki disease (KD) in New Zealand (NZ) is unknown. Our aim was to describe the incidence, seasonal variation, long-term outcomes and mortality for KD in NZ.

Design: Retrospective national database analysis.

The clinical toxicology of ketamine.

Introduction: Ketamine is a pharmaceutical drug possessing both analgesic and anaesthetic properties. As an anaesthetic, it induces anaesthesia by producing analgesia with a state of altered consciousness while maintaining airway tone, respiratory drive, and hemodynamic stability. At lower doses, it has psychoactive properties and has gained popularity as a recreational drug.

Specialist medical toxicologist consultations provided by the New Zealand National Poisons Centre, 2018-2020.

Aims: The National Poisons Centre (NPC) provides 24/7 specialist medical toxicologist consultations to healthcare professionals regarding the clinical management of poisoning cases. The use of toxicologist services was investigated to characterise the extent and content of consults to inform further development of this service.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 2018-2020 medical toxicologist consultations summarised contact numbers, professional backgrounds and district health boards (DHBs) of the people contacting the NPC, and the patient(s) and substance(s) involved.

Prevalence of psychoactive drugs in injured patients presenting to an emergency department.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to obtain an unbiased understanding of the prevalence of psychoactive drugs in trauma patients presenting to a large ED.

Methods: Consecutive adult patients presenting to the ED with an injury resulting in a trauma call had an anonymised, additional blood test taken for detection of over 2000 drugs. Laboratory testing was to judicial standards.

Temporal clustering of Kawasaki disease cases around the world.

In a single-site study (San Diego, CA, USA), we previously showed that Kawasaki Disease (KD) cases cluster temporally in bursts of approximately 7 days. These clusters occurred more often than would be expected at random even after accounting for long-term trends and seasonality. This finding raised the question of whether other locations around the world experience similar temporal clusters of KD that might offer clues to disease etiology.

Paediatric exploratory ingestion presentations to Christchurch Hospital emergency department during 2019.

Aim: To quantify and describe presentations to a New Zealand tertiary hospital emergency department (ED) associated with paediatric exploratory ingestions (PEIs) during 2019 in comparison to 1999.

Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was conducted of PEI presentations by children under 7 years of age to Christchurch Hospital ED between 1 January and 31 December 2019. Data were studied for demographic and management details and compared to data from 1999.

The clinical toxicology of cannabis.

Cannabis is one of the most widely used recreational drugs in the world. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the psychoactive principal constituent of the cannabis plant (Cannabis sativa). It is taken either orally or by inhalation, resulting in sedation, euphoria, relaxation and loss of social inhibition.

Case series: toxicity from 25B-NBOMe--a cluster of N-bomb cases.

Background A new class of hallucinogens called NBOMes has emerged. This class includes analogues 25I-NBOMe, 25C-NBOMe and 25B-NBOMe. Case reports and judicial seizures indicate that 25I-NBOMe and 25C-NBOMe are more prevalently abused.

Toxic cocktail: methanol poisoning in a tourist to Indonesia.

Methanol poisoning has become very uncommon in Australasia with regulations that have reduced its retail availability. This report describes a young tourist who developed sudden onset visual failure and rapid breathing 2 days after ingestion of a complimentary local drink called Arrack when travelling in Indonesia. She presented to a hospital in New Zealand with severe metabolic acidosis and a highly toxic methanol level at 17 mmol/L.