Pubmed October 2011 Update

My PubMed search was missing a lot of good papers, so here goes with a broader approach pulling 8 interesting papers ...

1) A procedure that differentiates unintentional from intentional overdose in opioid abusers.

Britton PC, Bohnert AS, Wines JD Jr, Conner KR.

Addict Behav. 2011 Sep 2.

*The intentionality of overdose is a recurrent issue. I read this article and frankly do not understand what the authors did.

2) The effectiveness of opioid maintenance treatment in prison settings: a systematic review.

Hedrich D, Alves P, Farrell M, Stöver H, Møller L, Mayet S.

Addiction. 2011 Sep 29. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2011.03676.x.

*Some data that agonist maintenance therapy in prison reduces post-release overdose mortality

3) Opioid overdose prevention and naloxone distribution in Rhode Island.

Yokell MA, Green TC, Bowman S, McKenzie M, Rich JD.

Med Health R I. 2011 Aug;94(8):240-2.

*A review of programmatic data from the Rhode Island naloxone distribution program

4) Prescription of opioid analgesics and related harms in Australia.

Roxburgh A, Bruno R, Larance B, Burns L.

Med J Aust. 2011 Sep 5;195(5):280-4.

*Oxycodone is becoming an issue in Australia, although not nearly as substantial as in the U.S.

5) The source of methadone in overdose deaths in Western virginia in 2004.

Weimer MB, Korthuis PT, Behonick GS, Wunsch MJ.

J Addict Med. 2011 Sep;5(3):188-202.

*Interesting data suggesting that two-thirds of methadone-related fatalities were from diverted drug (i.e. not prescribed to the person who died); 28% were prescribed methadone for analgesia. I can't access the full article, but regardless this suggests very few were agonist maintenance patients.

6) An analysis of the root causes for opioid-related overdose deaths in the United States.

Webster LR, Cochella S, Dasgupta N, Fakata KL, Fine PG, Fishman SM, Grey T, Johnson EM, Lee LK, Passik SD, Peppin J, Porucznik CA, Ray A, Schnoll SH, Stieg RL, Wakeland W.

Pain Med. 2011 Jun;12 Suppl 2:S26-35.

*A review of structural and individual factors related to opioid overdose increases in the U.S.

7) Characteristics of an Overdose Prevention, Response, and Naloxone Distribution Program in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

Bennett AS, Bell A, Tomedi L, Hulsey EG, Kral AH.

J Urban Health. 2011 Jul 20.

*A very useful review of the PA naloxone distribution program, including the rate of survival among those administered naloxone.

8) Treatment of opioid overdose in a physician-based prehospital EMS: Frequency and long-term prognosis.

Nielsen K, Nielsen SL, Siersma V, Rasmussen LS.

Resuscitation. 2011 Jun 15.

*These data from Denmark again demonstrate the increasing risk of mortality among those who have overdosed multiple times