PubMed Update November 2014 - February 2015

Catching up on 51 papers in 4 months. Did you miss me?

1) New Drugs of Abuse.

Rech MA, Donahey E, Cappiello Dziedzic JM, Oh L, Greenhalgh E.

Pharmacotherapy. 2014 Dec 4. doi: 10.1002/phar.1522. [Epub ahead of print]

Comment: Review of management of drug toxicities among novel, synthetic compounds.

2) Police officer attitudes towards intranasal naloxone training.

Ray B, O'Donnell D, Kahre K.

Drug Alcohol Depend. 2015 Jan 1;146:107-10. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.10.026. Epub 2014 Nov 8.

Comment: Police officers like being trained to carry naloxone.

3) Intranasal naloxone administration for treatment of opioid overdose.

Robinson A, Wermeling DP.

Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2014 Dec 15;71(24):2129-35. doi: 10.2146/ajhp130798.

Comment: Review of intranasal naloxone for overdose reversal.

4) Observed transition from opioid analgesic deaths toward heroin.

Dasgupta N, Creppage K, Austin A, Ringwalt C, Sanford C, Proescholdbell SK.

Drug Alcohol Depend. 2014 Dec 1;145:238-41. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.10.005. Epub 2014 Oct 18.

Comment: Heroin overdoses are increasing.

5) Brief overdose education can significantly increase accurate recognition of opioid overdose amongheroin users.

Jones JD, Roux P, Stancliff S, Matthews W, Comer SD.

Int J Drug Policy. 2014 Jan;25(1):166-70. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2013.05.006. Epub 2013 Jun 15.

Comment: Brief overdose training works for naloxone distribution. This is important because many places are requiring prolonged trainings that end up limiting access to those who are unable or unwilling to invest that degree of time.

6) Brief overdose education is sufficient for naloxone distribution to opioid users.

Behar E, Santos GM, Wheeler E, Rowe C, Coffin PO.

Drug Alcohol Depend. 2015 Mar 1;148:209-12. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.12.009. Epub 2014 Dec 19.

Comment: Again, brief overdose training works for naloxone distribution.

7) Novel Interventions to Prevent HIV and HCV Among Persons Who Inject Drugs.

Coffin PO, Rowe C, Santos GM.

Curr HIV/AIDS Rep. 2015 Jan 15. [Epub ahead of print]

Comment: Review of interventions for PWIDs in 2013 and 2014, including naloxone.

8) Supervised injection services: What has been demonstrated? A systematic literature review.

Potier C, Laprévote V, Dubois-Arber F, Cottencin O, Rolland B.

Drug Alcohol Depend. 2014 Dec 1;145C:48-68. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.10.012. Epub 2014 Oct 23. Review.

Comment: The attract the most marginalized drug users, promote safer injection, enhance primary care access, reduce overdose frequency, reduce public injecting and improper syringe disposal. They don’t increase drug injecting, drug trafficking or crime.

9) What we know, and don't know, about the impact of state policy and systems-level interventions on prescription drug overdose.

Haegerich TM, Paulozzi LJ, Manns BJ, Jones CM.

Drug Alcohol Depend. 2014 Dec 1;145C:34-47. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.10.001. Epub 2014 Oct 14. Review.

Comment: We don’t know anything

10) Drug scene, drug use and drug-related health consequences and responses in Kulob and Khorog, Tajikistan.

Latypov A, Otiashvili D, Zule W.

Int J Drug Policy. 2014 Oct 7;25(6):1204-1214. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2014.09.011. [Epub ahead of print]

Comment: Takikistan has a dire need for vast expansion in agonist maintenance and naloxone services.

11) "It's Russian roulette": Adulteration, adverse effects and drug use transitions during the 2010/2011 United Kingdom heroin shortage.

Harris M, Forseth K, Rhodes T.

Int J Drug Policy. 2015 Jan;26(1):51-8. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2014.09.009. Epub 2014 Sep 28.

Comment: A discussion of the downsides of a heroin drought and how drug users cope.

12) Coverage of overdose prevention programs for opiate users and injectors: a cross-sectional study.

Arribas-Ibar E, Sánchez-Niubò A, Majó X, Domingo-Salvany A, Brugal MT.

Harm Reduct J. 2014 Nov 22;11(1):33. doi: 10.1186/1477-7517-11-33.

Comment: I’m not entirely clear that these programs involve naloxone distribution, but it looks like they do with a 1-hour training. When they recruited from sites with programs, 43.5% of drug users had participated.

13) Evaluation of drug-drug interaction between daclatasvir and methadone orbuprenorphine/naloxone.

Garimella T, Wang R, Luo WL, Wastall P, Kandoussi H, Demicco M, Bruce D, Hwang C, Bertz R, Bifano M.

J Int AIDS Soc. 2014 Nov 2;17(4 Suppl 3):19628. doi: 10.7448/IAS.17.4.19628. eCollection 2014.

Comment: Another hepatitis C medication being tested for use in people on opioid agonist maintenance treatment. No meaningful interaction.

14) Effect of steady-state faldaprevir on the pharmacokinetics of steady-state methadone andbuprenorphine-naloxone in subjects receiving stable addiction management therapy.

Joseph D, Schobelock MJ, Riesenberg RR, Vince BD, Webster LR, Adeniji A, Elgadi M, Huang F.

Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2015 Jan;59(1):498-504. doi: 10.1128/AAC.04046-14. Epub 2014 Nov 10.

Comment: Another hepatitis C medication being tested for use in people on opioid agonist maintenance treatment. No meaningful interaction.

15) Take-home emergency naloxone to prevent deaths from heroin overdose.

Strang J, Bird SM, Dietze P, Gerra G, McLellan AT.

BMJ. 2014 Nov 4;349:g6580. doi: 10.1136/bmj.g6580. No abstract available.

Comment: England seems to be creeping forward with naloxone even in the absence of final data from large randomized trials.

16) Diversion of methadone and buprenorphine from opioid substitution treatment: a staff perspective.

Johnson B, Richert T.

J Psychoactive Drugs. 2014 Nov-Dec;46(5):427-35. doi: 10.1080/02791072.2014.960109.

Comment: This is an interesting issue. Agonist agents are often in short supply and can help people in withdrawal, who want to self-detox, etc. As the authors write: “Patients who share their medication with opioid-dependent friends are seen as less culpable than those who sell to anyone for money.”

17) Naloxone for opioid overdose prevention: pharmacists' role in community-based practice settings.

Bailey AM, Wermeling DP.

Ann Pharmacother. 2014 May;48(5):601-6. doi: 10.1177/1060028014523730. Epub 2014 Feb 12.

Comment: Pharmacists and naloxone!

18) Opiate- and cocaine-related fatal overdoses in Luxembourg from 1985 to 2011: a study on gender differences.

Origer A, Lopes da Costa S, Baumann M.

Eur Addict Res. 2014;20(2):87-93. doi: 10.1159/000355170. Epub 2013 Oct 31.

Comment: Interesting look at male versus female decedents. While men were more likely to die, women were more likely to die earlier in their drug use career and to use other psychoactive prescription medicaitons.

19) Assisted injection among people who inject drugs in Thailand.

Lee WK, Ti L, Hayashi K, Kaplan K, Suwannawong P, Wood E, Kerr T.

Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy. 2013 Sep 10;8:32. doi: 10.1186/1747-597X-8-32.

Comment: This study found no association between needing assistance with injection and non-fatal overdose. The data on this has been mixed, with some studies finding an association and some finding no association. As women are more likely to get assistance with injection and men are more likely to overdose, I wonder if the effect may wash out and more gender-specific analyses may make sense.

20) Associations between injection risk and community disadvantage among suburban injection drugusers in southwestern Connecticut, USA.

Heimer R, Barbour R, Palacios WR, Nichols LG, Grau LE.

AIDS Behav. 2014 Mar;18(3):452-63. doi: 10.1007/s10461-013-0572-3.

Comment: Interesting use of geocoding by mapping overdose deaths on top of the sample for the study. Frequent overdoses and poor knowledge about overdose in rural CT. Important work.

21) Sublingual buprenorphine for chronic pain: a survey of clinician prescribing practices.

Rosen K, Gutierrez A, Haller D, Potter JS.

Clin J Pain. 2014 Apr;30(4):295-300. doi: 10.1097/AJP.0b013e318298ddad.

Comment: Interesting survey of American Pain Society members showing that buprenorphine is indeed being used to treat chronic pain and is viewed as safer due to partial agonist activity (and reduced overdose risk).

22) Increased somatic morbidity in the first year after leaving opioid maintenance treatment: results from a Norwegian cohort study.

Skeie I, Brekke M, Clausen T, Gossop M, Lindbaek M, Reinertsen E, Thoresen M, Waal H.

Eur Addict Res. 2013;19(4):194-201. doi: 10.1159/000345229. Epub 2012 Dec 21.

Comment: As has been well-documented in the past, terminating opioid agonist maintenance therapy has a heighted risk of overdose.

23) Illicit use of opioid substitution drugs: Prevalence, user characteristics, and the association with non-fatal overdoses.

Bretteville-Jensen AL, Lillehagen M, Gjersing L, Andreas JB.

Drug Alcohol Depend. 2014 Dec 13. pii: S0376-8716(14)01981-4. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.12.002. [Epub ahead of print]

Comment: Interesting assessment of overdose risk among those who use diverted substitution medications. The only associated with overdose was infrequent buprenorphine use. As using buprenorphine requires one to detox beforehand, and detox is associated with overdose, I wonder if this is picking up people who are really trying to cut back their use and thus increasing overdose risks.

24) Alcohol-induced sedation and synergistic interactions between alcohol and morphine: A key mechanistic role for Toll-like receptors and MyD88-dependent signaling.

Corrigan F, Wu Y, Tuke J, Coller JK, Rice KC, Diener KR, Hayball JD, Watkins LR, Somogyi AA, Hutchinson MR.

Brain Behav Immun. 2014 Dec 24. pii: S0889-1591(14)00608-4. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2014.12.019. [Epub ahead of print]

Comment: Morphine and alcohol appear to interact in surprising ways neurochemically, perhaps accounting for heightened overdose risk.

25) Preventing Iatrogenic Overdose: A Review of In-Emergency Department Opioid-Related Adverse Drug Events and Medication Errors.

Beaudoin FL, Merchant RC, Janicki A, McKaig DM, Babu KM.

Ann Emerg Med. 2014 Dec 17. pii: S0196-0644(14)01514-5. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2014.11.016. [Epub ahead of print]

Comment: The majority of events were due to medication error.

26) High prevalence of non-fatal overdose among people who inject drugs in Malaysia: Correlates of overdose and implications for overdose prevention from a cross-sectional study.

Bazazi AR, Zelenev A, Fu JJ, Yee I, Kamarulzaman A, Altice FL.

Int J Drug Policy. 2014 Dec 2. pii: S0955-3959(14)00334-X. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2014.11.010. [Epub ahead of print]

Comment: Amazing to have this work out of Malaysia. Shows more or less standard rates of overdose that have been documented in multiple other settings.

27) Administration of Naloxone in a Home or Community Setting: A Review of the Clinical Effectiveness, Cost-effectiveness, and Guidelines [Internet].

Ottawa (ON): Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health; 2014 Jun 20.

Comment: There are no data comparing lay naloxone to healthcare professional administered naloxone.

28) Reversal of Opioid Overdose Syndrome in Morphine-Dependent Rats Using Buprenorphine.

Zamani N, Hassanian-Moghaddam H, Hossein Bayat A, Haghparast A, Shadnia S, Rahimi M, Demaneh BH.

Toxicol Lett. 2014 Dec 12. pii: S0378-4274(14)01514-8. doi: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2014.12.007. [Epub ahead of print]

Comment: “Buprenorphine recovers opioid-overdose in morphine-dependent rats and bypasses the withdrawal-syndrome due to administration of naloxone.”

29) Adolescents at Risk: Pain Pills to Heroin: Part II.

Fogger S, McGuinness TM.

J Psychosoc Nurs Ment Health Serv. 2015 Feb 1;53(2):27-30. doi: 10.3928/02793695-20150106-01.

Comment: A review of substituting prescription opioids with heroin due to cost of the former, and using opioid substitution therapy.

30) Review of naloxone safety for opioid overdose: practical considerations for new technology and expanded public access.

Wermeling DP.

Ther Adv Drug Saf. 2015 Feb;6(1):20-31. doi: 10.1177/2042098614564776. Review.

Comment: As the title says.

31) Evaluation of poly-drug use in methadone-related fatalities using segmental hair analysis.

Nielsen MK, Johansen SS, Linnet K.

Forensic Sci Int. 2015 Mar;248:134-9. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2015.01.004. Epub 2015 Jan 12.

Comment: Interesting work. No evidence of decreased exposure to methadone (so reduced tolerance of methadone unlikely a factor here). Evidence of multiple other depressant agents, including frequent heroin exposure.

32) Long-term mortality, remission, criminality and psychiatric comorbidity of heroin dependence: 11-year findings from the Australian Treatment Outcome Study.

Teesson M, Marel C, Darke S, Ross J, Slade T, Burns L, Lynskey M, Memedovic S, White J, Mills KL.

Addiction. 2015 Jan 23. doi: 10.1111/add.12860. [Epub ahead of print]

Comment: Really useful data here. After 11 years, 10.2% of the population had died and 24.8% were still using heroin; 46.6% were in current substance use disorder treatment. Major depression was a driver of poor outcomes.

33) Out-of-Hospital Mortality Among Patients Receiving Methadone for Noncancer Pain.

Ray WA, Chung CP, Murray KT, Cooper WO, Hall K, Stein CM.

JAMA Intern Med. 2015 Mar 1;175(3):420-427. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.6294.

Comment: Methadone was more risky than other opioids, even at low doses (<20mg per day). Still, it’s not possible to tease out all of the differences, such as why methadone was prescribed to one person and morphine to another.

34) The Prescription Opioid and Heroin Crisis: A Public Health Approach to an Epidemic of Addiction.

Kolodny A, Courtwright DT, Hwang CS, Kreiner P, Eadie JL, Clark TW, Alexander GC.

Annu Rev Public Health. 2015 Jan 12. [Epub ahead of print]

Comment: A review of prescription opioid overdose.

35) Community Management of Opioid Overdose.

Geneva: World Health Organization; 2014.

Comment: WHO endorses lay naloxone.

36) Ventricular dysrhythmias associated with poisoning and drug overdose: a 10-year review of statewide poison control center data from california.

Al-Abri SA, Woodburn C, Olson KR, Kearney TE.

Am J Cardiovasc Drugs. 2015 Feb;15(1):43-50. doi: 10.1007/s40256-014-0104-1.

Comment: Stimulants, antidepressants, etc.

37) Overdose Education and Naloxone Rescue Kits for Family Members of Opioid Users: Characteristics, Motivations and Naloxone Use.

Bagley SM, Peterson J, Cheng DM, Jose C, Quinn E, O'Connor PG, Walley AY.

Subst Abus. 2015 Jan 7:0. [Epub ahead of print]

Comment: Makes sense.

38) Methadone and prescription drug overdose.

Hendrikson H, Hansen M.

NCSL Legisbrief. 2014 Dec;22(45):1-2.

Comment: More on methadone as being of high risk when used for pain management.

39) Diversion of methadone and buprenorphine from opioid substitution treatment: a staff perspective.

Johnson B, Richert T.

J Psychoactive Drugs. 2014 Nov-Dec;46(5):427-35. doi: 10.1080/02791072.2014.960109.

Comment: “Patients who share their medication with opioid-dependent friends are seen as less culpable than those who sell to anyone for money.”

40) Unexpected variation of the codeine/morphine ratio following fatal heroin overdose.

Gambaro V, Argo A, Cippitelli M, Dell'Acqua L, Farè F, Froldi R, Guerrini K, Roda G, Rusconi C, Procaccianti P.

J Anal Toxicol. 2014 Jun;38(5):289-94. doi: 10.1093/jat/bku016. Epub 2014 Apr 11.

Comment: Establishing overdose as caused by heroin can be tricky these days and work like this is important.

41) 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;9:12. doi: 10.1186/1747-597X-9-12.

Comment: Heroin injectors have high baseline rates of histamine, suggesting that they be at higher risk than others for allergic reactions to substances.

42) The potential threat of acetyl fentanyl: legal issues, contaminated heroin, and acetyl fentanyl "disguised" as other opioids.

Stogner JM.

Ann Emerg Med. 2014 Dec;64(6):637-9. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2014.07.017. Epub 2014 Aug 18. No abstract available.

Comment: Acetyl fentanyl is a major problem in the eastern half of the U.S. these days.

43) Drug-related deaths between 2002 and 2013 with accent to methadone and benzodiazepines.

Petrushevska T, Jakovski Z, Poposka V, Stefanovska VV.

J Forensic Leg Med. 2015 Apr;31:12-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jflm.2014.12.013. Epub 2015 Jan 7.

Comment: Survey of drug-related deaths in Macedonia.

44) Factors associated with health-related quality of life among injection drug users at methadone clinics in Taipei, Taiwan.

Yen YF, Chou P, Lin YS, Deng CY.

J Chin Med Assoc. 2015 Feb 26. pii: S1726-4901(15)00005-2. doi: 10.1016/j.jcma.2015.01.001. [Epub ahead of print]

Comment: History of overdose was associated with a poor quality of life.

45) Opioid treatment at release from jail using extended-release naltrexone: a pilot proof-of-concept randomized effectiveness trial.

Lee JD, McDonald R, Grossman E, McNeely J, Laska E, Rotrosen J, Gourevitch MN.

Addiction. 2015 Feb 23. doi: 10.1111/add.12894. [Epub ahead of print]

Comment: Compared to nothing, there was less relapse in the first 4 weeks out of jail with injected naltrexone, which blocks opioid receptors for 4 weeks.

46) [The message of the heroin overdoses].

Pap Á, Hegedűs K.

Orv Hetil. 2015 Mar 1;156(9):352-7. doi: 10.1556/OH.2015.30091. Hungarian.

Comment: Comments on overdose and naloxone from Hungary.

47) Take-home emergency naloxone to prevent deaths from heroin overdose.

Strang J, Bird SM, Dietze P, Gerra G, McLellan AT.

BMJ. 2014 Nov 4;349:g6580. doi: 10.1136/bmj.g6580. No abstract available.

Comment: Authors state their belief that waiting for data should not delay implementation of naloxone programs.

48) Expanding access to naloxone in the United States.

Doyon S, Aks SE, Schaeffer S; American Academy of Clinical Toxicology; American College of Medical Toxicology; American Association of Poison Control Centers.

Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2014 Dec;52(10):989-92. doi: 10.3109/15563650.2014.968657. Epub 2014 Oct 6. No abstract available.

Comment: Thanks to Corey Davis for sending, this is a position statement strongly in support of naloxone availability.

49) Emergency hospitalizations for unsupervised prescription medication ingestions by young children.

Lovegrove MC, Mathew J, Hampp C, Governale L, Wysowski DK, Budnitz DS.

Pediatrics. 2014 Oct;134(4):e1009-16. doi: 10.1542/peds.2014-0840. Epub 2014 Sep 15.

Comment: Buprenorphine was associated with quite a number of accidental pediatric ingestions.

50) Pharmacies as providers of expanded health services for people who inject drugs: a review of laws, policies, and barriers in six countries.

Hammett TM, Phan S, Gaggin J, Case P, Zaller N, Lutnick A, Kral AH, Fedorova EV, Heimer R, Small W, Pollini R, Beletsky L, Latkin C, Des Jarlais DC.

BMC Health Serv Res. 2014 Jun 17;14:261. doi: 10.1186/1472-6963-14-261.

Comment: There are lots of barriers to pharmacists serving in this role.

51) Another chance to reformulate racemic methadone.

Karch SB.

J Addict Med. 2014 May-Jun;8(3):217-9. doi: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000000036. No abstract available.

Comment: Unable to access. Racemic methadone may be associated with cardiac arrhythmias like torsades de pointes.