The Shift to Toxicological-Related Deaths Over Natural During the COVID-19 Pandemic-An Ontario, Canada, Experience.

Study Design: Retrospective review of deaths in Ontario where there was Coroner's investigation and a postmortem examination between 2018 and 2021 to compare year by year changes before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: To establish the changes in patterns of toxicological deaths over the pandemic.

Methods: Using the database of the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario to determine the numbers of postmortem examinations for the province of Ontario as well as the primary cause and manner of death.

Pharmacogenetics of Lethal Opioid Overdose: Review of Current Evidence and Preliminary Results from a Pilot Study.

There has been a worldwide substantial increase in accidental opioid-overdose deaths. The aim of this review, along with preliminary results from our pilot study, is to highlight the use of pharmacogenetics as a tool to predict causes of accidental opioid-overdose death. For this review, a systematic literature search of PubMed between the time period of January 2000 to March 2023 was carried out.

Reviewing pharmacogenetics to advance precision medicine for opioids.

Background: Adequate opioid prescribing is critical for therapeutic success of pain management. Despite the widespread use of opioids, optimized opioid therapy remains unresolved with risk of accidental lethal overdosing. With the emergence of accumulating evidence linking genetic variation to opioid response, pharmacogenetic based treatment recommendations have been proposed.