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17 Results (showing 1 - 10)
Results sorted by updated date (oldest first)
Results sorted by updated date (oldest first)
Posted 1/26/2022 (updated 3/26/2024)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) looked at data from six states mandated to report on neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), a condition that occurs when newborn babies experience withdrawal from drugs. A previous study of these states – Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia – indicated that the reporting helped determine the prevalence of NAS and identify communities more severely affected. The current report is based on answers to a follow-up questionnaire given to epidemiologists and birth defects program managers from the same six states.
Posted 8/25/2023 (updated 3/26/2024)
As HIV transmission via injection drugs are increasing, knowing the variation in which the the transmission occurs can be beneficial in treatment and intervention. Authors of the study look into the frequency and distribution of HIV transmission behaviors among people who use drugs in rural areas to possibly determine if interventions could be universally effective. Data collected in the study suggests that there are many variations in the transmission behaviors.
Posted 3/16/2022 (updated 3/27/2024)
Background: Sharp exacerbations of the US overdose crisis are linked to polysubstance use of synthetic compounds. Xylazine is a veterinary tranquilizer, long noted in the street opioid supply of Puerto Rico, and more recently Philadelphia. Yet its national trends, geographic distribution, and health risks are poorly characterized. Methods: In this sequential mixed-methods study, xylazine was increasingly observed by ethnographers in Philadelphia among drug-sellers and people who inject drugs (PWID). Subsequently, we systematically searched for records describing xylazine-present overdose mortality across the US and assessed time trends and overlap with other drugs
Posted 5/11/2022 (updated 3/27/2024)
The rate of drug overdose deaths in the USA has more than tripled since the turn of the century, and rates are disproportionately high among the American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) population. Little is known about the overall historical trends in AI/AN opioid-only and opioid/polysubstance-related mortality. This study will address this gap.
Posted 11/15/2022 (updated 3/27/2024)
In this decision analytical model study evaluating the distribution of 10 000 additional naloxone kits annually in Rhode Island, the strategy focusing on distribution of naloxone according to geographic need to people who inject drugs resulted in the best outcomes at the lowest cost, averting an estimated 25.3% of opioid overdose deaths at an incremental cost of $27 312 per opioid overdose death averted
Posted 6/16/2020 (updated 3/28/2024)
This cross-sectional study included all counties and county-equivalent divisions in the US in 2016. Data on racial/ethnic population distribution were derived from the American Community Survey, and data on locations of facilities providing methadone and buprenorphine were obtained from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration databases.
Posted 10/12/2020 (updated 3/29/2024)
This article discusses findings from a study published in the Journal of Viral Hepatitis which addresses the question of HCV testing frequency in people who inject drugs.
Posted 6/17/2021 (updated 4/2/2024)
Fueled by misinformation, fentanyl panic has harmed public health through complicating overdose rescue while rationalizing hyper-punitive criminal laws, wasteful expenditures, and proposals to curtail vital access to pain pharmacotherapy. To assess misinformation about health risk from casual contact with fentanyl, we characterize its diffusion and excess visibility in mainstream and social media.
Posted 7/7/2021 (updated 4/2/2024)
Background: Injecting drug users (IDUs) are at increased risk of acquiring and transmitting HIV and other bloodborne pathogens through the multi-person use of syringes. Although research has shown that increased access to syringes through syringe exchange programs (SEPs) is an effective strategy to reduce risky injection practices many areas of the United States still do not have SEPs. In the absence of SEPs, legislation allowing pharmacies over-the-counter sales of syringes has also been shown to reduce syringe sharing. The success of pharmacy sales however is limited by other legal stipulations, such as drug paraphernalia laws, which in turn may contribute to fear among IDUs about being caught purchasing and carrying syringes.
Posted 7/7/2021 (updated 4/2/2024)
In 2015, 33,091 persons in the United States died from an opioid-related drug overdose.The epidemic of opioid overdose deaths has led to expanding the use of naloxone in community settings by non–medically trained bystanders who are often people who use drugs (PWUD). Since 2013, illicitly manufactured fentanyl (IMF), fentanyl analogs, and other synthetic opioids have played an increasing role in overdose deaths in the United States. Illicitly manufactured fentanyl (IMF) prevalence has increased. However, there is uncertainty about naloxone dose(s) used by nonmedical bystanders to reverse opioid overdoses in the context of increasing IMF.