Hooray for a mere 7 paper reprieve this month. 1) Underrepresentation of Heroin Involvement in Unintentional Drug Overdose Deaths in Allegheny County, PA. Mertz KJ, Janssen JK, Williams KE. J Forensic Sci. 2014 Jul 16. doi: 10.1111/1556-4029.12541. [Epub ahead of print] Comments: This manuscript presents critical and very concerning results regarding interpretation of our prescriptionRead More
PubMed Update May/June 2014
25 papers in two months. Anyone want to help with this? 1) Naloxone therapy in opioid overdose patients: intranasal or intravenous? A randomized clinical trial. Sabzghabaee AM, Eizadi-Mood N, Yaraghi A, Zandifar S. Arch Med Sci. 2014 May 12;10(2):309-14. doi: 10.5114/aoms.2014.42584. Epub 2014 May 13. PMID: 24904666 [PubMed] Free PMC Article Comments: More data toRead More
PubMed Update March/April 2014
Better late than never, right? 24 papers over two months. 1) Overdose rescues by trained and untrained participants and change in opioid use among substance-using participants in overdose education and naloxone distribution programs: a retrospective cohort study. Doe-Simkins M, Quinn E, Xuan Z, Sorensen-Alawad A, Hackman H, Ozonoff A, Walley AY. BMC Public Health. 2014 AprRead More
PubMed Update February 2014
8 papers today, essentially about naloxone and heroin. 1) Risk of anaphylaxis in opioid dependent persons: effects of heroin versus substitution substance. Maurer U, Kager C, Fellinger C, Loader D, Pollesböck A, Spitzer B, Jarisch R. Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy. 2014 Feb 27;9(1):12. [Epub ahead of print] Comment: Seeking alternative explanations for “overdose”, theRead More
PubMed Update January 2014
10 papers this month, half of which relate to the United Kingdom. We continue to move forward. 1) Characterization of opioid overdose and response in a high-risk community corrections sample: A preliminary study. Cropsey KL, Martin S, Clark CB, McCullumsmith CB, Lane PS, Hardy S, Hendricks PS, Redmond N. J Opioid Manag. 2013 Nov-Dec;9(6):393-400. Comments: Valuable surveyRead More
PubMed Update November/December 2013
We close out 2013 with an impressive 25 papers in the final two months for a total count of 89 papers. Some interesting new approaches and perspectives, including a paper on the underappreciated role of adulterants, a couple of naltrexone papers, and lots of lay naloxone. 1) The Whole Is Just the Sum of ItsRead More
PubMed Update October 2013
A slight reprieve from the onslaught, only 6 articles this month – some of which are really interesting. 1) The Toxicology Investigators Consortium Case Registry-The 2012 Experience. Wiegand T, Wax P, Smith E, Hart K, Brent J. J Med Toxicol. 2013 Nov 1. [Epub ahead of print] Comments: Fascinating TocIC Registry, including cases that wereRead More
PubMed Update September 2013
12 articles this month. 1) Effectiveness of Naltrexone in the Prevention of Delayed Respiratory Arrest in Opioid-Naive Methadone-Intoxicated Patients. Aghabiklooei A, Hassanian-Moghaddam H, Zamani N, Shadnia S, Mashayekhian M, Rahimi M, Nasouhi S, Ghoochani A. Biomed Res Int. 2013;2013:903172. Epub 2013 Sep 9. Comments: Interesting use of the long-acting opioid antagonist naltrexone in this studyRead More
PubMed Update: Another Year in Overdose
Another year in overdose, September 2012-August 2013, generally in reverse chronological order, and following the same loosely-formed categories as last year. Once again, this is opioid focused and misses anything not listed in the PubMed database – which means it misses many interesting papers to which you are warmly welcomed to post links! This yearRead More
PubMed Update August 2013
16 papers today – this is getting to be a big job. Naloxone, fentanyl, methadone, stars, pain, Central Asia, primary care, injection facilities, personal stories … 1) Notes from the field: acetyl fentanyl overdose fatalities – rhode island, march-may 2013. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2013 Aug 30;62(34):703-4.Read More