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Intravenous drug use related to dramatic increase in dangerous heart infection

Hospital admissions for a dangerous heart infection related to intravenous drug use increased by 436 percent from 2012-2017 at a medical center in a region hit hard by the nation's opioid crisis, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 68th Annual Scientific Session.

6 Mar 2019

Many heroin users are not prepared to prevent or treat fentanyl-related overdoses, study finds

Most heroin users in Baltimore, a city heavily affected by the opioid epidemic, recognize that the heroin they buy is now almost always laced with the highly dangerous synthetic opioid fentanyl, according to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

6 Mar 2019

Persistant opioid use in the family may be risk factor for young adults after surgery

Having a family member with persistent opioid use may be a risk factor for young adults continuing prescriptions long after their own surgeries, a new Michigan Medicine study suggests.

28 Feb 2019

Study: Fewer American hospital programs address opioid abuse

The damage done to America's health by the opioid epidemic is well-recognized and enormous, with drug overdose death rates helping to drive down U.S. life expectancy in recent years. Yet as the problem has worsened, American hospitals collectively have seen a loss of programs dealing with substance abuse.

25 Feb 2019

$1.5 million grant to develop opioid treatment program for jail detainees

In what could serve as a model for tackling one of the nation's top public health crises, a University of Massachusetts Amherst epidemiology researcher is teaming up with two Western Massachusetts sheriff's offices to design, implement and study an opioid treatment program for jail detainees in Franklin and Hampshire counties.

22 Feb 2019

Besides the U.S., drug overdose mortality is also common in other high-income countries

Is the current American drug overdose epidemic an isolated phenomenon? Have other high-income countries experienced similar increases in drug overdose mortality, or are they likely to going forward? A new study published in Population and Development Review addresses these questions.

21 Feb 2019

More states say doctors must offer overdose reversal drug along with opioids

In a growing number of states, patients who get opioids for serious pain may leave their doctors' offices with a second prescription — for naloxone, a drug that can save their lives if they overdose on the powerful painkillers.

21 Feb 2019

The United States records highest drug overdose death rates

In the most comprehensive international comparison of its kind, a USC study found that the United States has the highest drug overdose death rates among a set of high-income countries.

21 Feb 2019

Research finds steep rise in self-poisonings among young people

Self-harm from self-poisoning in children and adolescents is not only increasing but starting at a younger age, finds new research by University of Sydney and the NSW Poisons Information Centre.

20 Feb 2019

Discharged, dismissed: ERs often miss chance to set overdose survivors on ‘better path’

The last time heroin landed Marissa Angerer in a Midland, Texas, emergency room — naked and unconscious — was May 2016. But that wasn't her first drug-related interaction with the health system.

15 Feb 2019

New study identifies many key lessons to establish sanctioned safe consumption sites

A new qualitative study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health identifies several key lessons from early efforts to establish sanctioned safe consumption sites in five U.S. communities.

14 Feb 2019

Changing nature of opioid epidemic could be responsible for increase in overdose deaths

The opioid epidemic in the United States could be responsible for 700,000 overdose deaths between 2016 and 2025, according to a new study published today in JAMA Network Open.

8 Feb 2019

What ‘dope sick’ really feels like

Detoxing off heroin or opioids without medication is sheer hell. I should know. For many users, full-blown withdrawal is often foreshadowed by a yawn, or perhaps a runny nose, a sore back, sensitive skin or a restless leg. For me, the telltale sign that the heroin was wearing off was a slight tingling sensation when I urinated.

8 Feb 2019

Support from trusted adults can reduce risk of dying in suicidal teens, finds study

Building a circle of trusted adults around a suicidal teen, to support them during vulnerable times, may have long-term effects that reduce their risk of dying young, a new study suggests.

7 Feb 2019

HEROES awarded two grants to support opioid intervention program in Houston

The Houston Emergency Response Opioid Engagement System was recently awarded two grants that will help fund the opioid intervention program through the end of 2020.

6 Feb 2019

Are Electronic Cigarettes Facilitating Illicit Drug Use?

In this interview, Dr. Michelle Peace provides an introduction to her research into the use of e-cigarettes for the inhalation of illicit drugs.

From Pittcon 5 Feb 2019

Opioid-related auto fatalities in Maryland remain stable from 2006 to 2017

A new approach to defining opioid-related auto fatalities provides insight into the nature and distribution of opioid-involved deaths in the state of Maryland, say the authors of a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

5 Feb 2019

Rutgers study uncovers new threat in the opiate epidemic

A Rutgers study has uncovered a new threat in the opiate epidemic: Overdoses of loperamide, an over-the-counter diarrhea medication, have been steadily increasing in number and severity nationwide over five years.

4 Feb 2019

Lawsuit details how the Sackler family allegedly built an Oxycontin fortune

The first nine months of 2013 started off as a banner year for the Sackler family, owners of the pharmaceutical company that produces OxyContin, the addictive opioid pain medication. Purdue Pharma paid the family $400 million from its profits during that time, claims a lawsuit filed by the Massachusetts attorney general.

4 Feb 2019

Opioid overdose epidemic likely to increase in the U.S in coming years

A study from investigators at the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute for Technology Assessment projects that the opioid overdose epidemic in the U.S. is likely to increase in coming years, and that measures based on restricting access to prescription opioids will have a minimal impact in reducing overdose deaths.

3 Feb 2019