Drug and alcohol dependence
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Feb 2018
Substance use patterns associated with recent exposure to fentanyl among people who inject drugs in Vancouver, Canada: A cross-sectional urine toxicology screening study.
Vancouver, Canada is experiencing an opioid overdose crisis where fentanyl, a potent, synthetic opioid contaminating the illicit drug supply, has been detected in the majority of fatal overdose cases. Despite its growing presence throughout North America, few studies have characterized exposure to fentanyl among people who use illicit drugs (PWUD). We sought to identify the prevalence and correlates of fentanyl exposure among PWUD in Vancouver. ⋯ With one in five PWID being exposed to fentanyl, there is an urgent need to design and scale up interventions to reduce overdose risk, including a range of opioid agonist therapies.