DRUG DANCERS RISK STAYING ALIVE

NIGHTCLUBBERS who take drugs risk developing a potentially fatal condition
dubbed Saturday Night Fever, doctors have warned.

Symptoms include fainting, nausea, anxiety, panic, heart palpitations,
shivering and a raised temperature.

Anyone showing the signs should be suspected of taking "dance drugs" such as
Ecstasy, casualty wards have been told.

The advice comes from doctors at St Thomas's Hospital in London, who saw 48
"fever" patients in 15 months.

Yesterday, psychiatrist Hugh Williams, who led the research at the
hospital's accident and emergency department, said: "We coined the phrase
Saturday Night Fever to alert staff and colleagues that if someone turns up
on Saturday night or early on Sunday with these symptoms they have probably
been taking stimulant drugs such as Ecstasy."

"Weekend drug abuse is a growing problem for accident and emergency
departments, and the most worrying finding we made is that many of these
people are now mixing Ecstasy with other drugs."

The 48 patients, aged between 15 and 30, had all taken the drug at a club or
rave before falling ill.

Almost half were taken to hospital between 10pm on Saturday and 9am on
Sunday. Most had taken two tablets of Ecstasy before collapsing, and almost
half had taken other drugs at the same time.

Amphetamine, also known as speed, was by far the most popular "mixer drug",
followed by cocaine, LSD, cannabis, amyl nitrate and GHB - an anaesthetic
which can cause rapid loss of consciousness.

Checked-by: Don Beck