hepatitis C prevalence in injection drug users

Int J Infect Dis. 2012 Nov 16. pii: S1201-9712(12)01273-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2012.10.004. [Epub ahead of print]

A multilevel approach for assessing the variability of hepatitis C prevalence in injection drug users by their gathering places.

Wong NS, Chan PC, Lee SS, Lee SL, Lee CK.

Source

Stanley Ho Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 30-32 Ngan Shing Street, Shatin, Hong Kong

 Emotional dysregulations impact upon decision-making controlled by goal-directed and habitual action selections systems, and, in combination with a failure of prefrontal inhibitory control, mediate maladaptive decision-making observed in substance dependent individuals such that they continue drug use in spite of negative consequences.

Front Integr Neurosci. 2012;6:101. doi: 10.3389/fnint.2012.00101. Epub 2012 Nov 7.

The detrimental effects of emotional process dysregulation on decision-making in substance dependence.

Murphy A, Taylor E, Elliott R.

Neuroscience and Psychiatry Unit, University of Manchester Manchester, UK.

People in opioid maintenance treatment may have an impaired capacity for emotion perception and ability to make inferences about social situations.

Addiction. 2012 Nov 16. doi: 10.1111/add.12040. [Epub ahead of print]

Deficits in social perception in opioid maintenance patients, abstinent opioid users and non-opioid users.

McDonald S, Darke S, Kaye S, Torok M.

School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.

Buprenorphine May Not Be as Safe as You Think

Pediatrics. 2012 Nov 5. [Epub ahead of print]

Kim HK, Smiddy M, Hoffman RS, Nelson LS.

 

Abstract

Buprenorphine is a partial μ-opioid receptor agonist that is approved for the treatment of opioid dependency. It is generally believed to be safer than methadone because of its ceiling effect on respiratory depression. As more adults in US households use buprenorphine, an increasing number of children are being exposed. We report a fatal exposure to buprenorphine in a small child that occurred after ingestion of a caretaker's buprenorphine/naloxone. Postmortem toxicology analysis showed free serum concentrations of 52 ng/mL and 39 ng/mL for buprenorphine and norbuprenorphine, respectively. No other drugs were detected. Autopsy did not find signs of injury or trauma. The theoretical safety provided by the ceiling effect in respiratory depression from buprenorphine may not apply to children, and buprenorphine may cause dose-dependent respiratory depression.

Patterns of symptom reporting during pregnancy comparing opioid maintained and control women

J Addict Med. 2012 Dec;6(4):258-64. doi: 10.1097/ADM.0b013e31826b299d.

 

Gordon AL, Lopatko OV, Stacey H, Pearson V, Woods A, Fisk A, White JM.

methadone-maintained (MM) and buprenorphine-maintained (BM)
Methadone-maintained women reported significantly (P < 0.05) more symptoms than BM women compared to controls throughout pregnancy. Methadone-maintained women reported 8 and BM women reported 3 symptoms in the third trimester at rates greater than controls. Methadone-maintained women reported greater opioid withdrawal than controls; this did not occur in BM women.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest in a Patient on Chronic Methadone After the Addition of Azithromycin.

Am J Med Sci. 2012 Oct 25
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23103438

False-positive methadone urine drug screen in a patient treated with quetiapine

Acta Clin Croat. 2012 Jun;51(2):269-72.

 

Abstract

We present a case of T.M. admitted to University Department of Psychiatry, Split University Hospital Center, in Croatia, because of the acute psychotic reaction (F23.9). The patient's urine tested positive for methadone without a history of methadone ingestion. Urine drug screen was performed with the COBAS Integra Methadone II test kit (kinetic interaction of microparticles in solution /KIMS/ methodology) by Roche. Drugs that have been shown to cross-react with methadone feature a tricyclic structure with a sulfur and nitrogen atom in the middle ring, which is common for both quetiapine and methadone. Therefore, it is plausible that this structural similarity between quetiapine and methadone could underlie the cross-reactivity on methadone drug screen. Besides quetiapine, a number of routinely prescribed medications have been associated with triggering false-positive urine drug screen results. Verification of the test results with a different screening test or additional analytical tests should be performed to avoid adverse consequences for the patients.