Fentanyl

The CDC has awarded $279 million to 49 states, the District of Columbia and 40 local health departments to address rising drug overdoses in communities, the agency announced.

Recent data show that fentanyl-related overdoses are increasing in the United States, and the issue “demands our immediate attention and a comprehensive approach,” an expert said.

The number of overdose deaths attributable to illegally manufactured fentanyl laced with xylazine has skyrocketed in recent years, according to data in CDC’s MMWR.

From 2017 to 2021, people seeking treatment for opioid use disorder increasingly tested positive for fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine at presentation, according to findings published in Addiction.

The Biden administration has declared fentanyl laced or associated with xylazine as an “emerging threat” to the United States, the White House announced Wednesday.

Initiating buprenorphine in the ED to patients with opioid use disorder was safe, with fewer than 1% of patients experiencing precipitated withdrawal despite a high prevalence of fentanyl use, a recent study found.

There were more drug overdose deaths in 2020 than anticipated based on trends from 2013 to 2019, with more fatalities among Black people compared with white people, according to findings published in PLOS Global Public Health.

Deaths involving fentanyl in people aged 10 to 19 years increased by 182% from 2019 to 2021, among other findings reported in a study published in MMWR.

Illicit fentanyl positivity in patient samples from substance use disorder treatment practices in Minnesota increased by 400% during the first half of 2022 compared with 2019, according to a press release from a drug testing laboratory.

As drug overdose deaths grab headlines in the U.S., 14.7% of these deaths were positive for antihistamines and 3.6% of them were classified as antihistamine-involved, according to data published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.