Purpose: In 2013, during a recent heroin-assisted treatment trial, participants in heroin-assisted treatment (HAT) decreased significantly more their street heroin use than participants in oral methadone treatment. After the trial, HAT was discontinued. To examine whether the treatment benefits were sustained three months after the trial, the use of street heroin by the participants was analyzed in a follow-up study.
Results: At the follow-up assessment, street heroin use increased in the experimental group. The two groups no longer showed a significant difference (p=0.55) in the level of street heroin use.
Conclusion: A predetermined and forced end of HAT was followed by a significant increase in the level of street level use.
Background: Management of opioid withdrawal in hospital settings is crucial to improve treatment completion and health outcomes among patients who use opioids, such as heroin. Evidence-based clinical guidelines can support responsive provision of opioid substitution therapy (OST). In England there is no standardised application of guidance for substance dependence management across National Health Service (NHS) Hospitals.
Sensors and Biosensors Group, Department of Chemistry, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici Cn, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address:
Illicit drugs are a global burden, not only for society, but also for the various control authorities for which its rapid on-site detection remains a challenge. In this context, the potential of a voltammetric electronic tongue (ET) for the analysis of different drugs is evaluated herein. Concretely, the discrimination and identification of cocaine, heroin, 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), methamphetamine and ketamine in self-prepared and real samples were attempted.
Background: Fentanyl is increasingly pervasive in the unregulated drug supply and is a driver of drug overdose deaths in the United States. The aims of this study were to characterize and identify correlates of fentanyl preference among people who use drugs (PWUD) in Rhode Island (RI).
Methods: Using bivariate analysis, we examined associations between fentanyl preference and sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics at baseline among participants enrolled in the RI Prescription Drug and Illicit Drug Study from August 2020-February 2023.
Background: Injecting, smoking, and snorting heroin/synthetic opioids is each associated with unique health risks. It is unclear how route of administration (ROA) preferences have shifted during the opioid epidemic.
Methods: Using 2000-2021 admissions data from SAMHSA TEDS-A, we analyzed trends in heroin/synthetic opioid ROA preferences and factors associated with these preferences.
Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceutical Center, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, USA; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, USA. Electronic address:
* Researchers developed a highly accurate testing method to measure these drugs and their breakdown products in blood, adhering to regulatory guidelines.
* Results show that using heroin and cocaine together significantly raises the risk of overdose, as heroin slows down cocaine clearance while cocaine boosts heroin metabolism, highlighting the complexities of polydrug use.
