Historique
Article de Périodique
A deadly trend in fentanyl fatalities (England, 1998-2017) (2020)
Auteur(s) :
CLARIDGE, H. ;
WILLIAMS, B. D. ;
COPELAND, C. S.
Année
2020
Page(s) :
437-444
Langue(s) :
Anglais
Refs biblio. :
47
Domaine :
Autres substances / Other substances
Discipline :
EPI (Epidémiologie / Epidemiology)
Thésaurus géographique
ANGLETERRE
;
ROYAUME-UNI
Thésaurus mots-clés
EVOLUTION
;
FENTANYL
;
MORTALITE
;
DROGUES DE SYNTHESE
;
OPIOIDES
;
SURDOSE
;
ETUDE DE CAS
Résumé :
Aim: To identify trends in drug-related deaths associated with fentanyl and its derivatives, including novel variants, in England, 1998-2017.
Methods: Case reports from the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths (NPSAD) where a pharmaceutical fentanyl or non-pharmaceutical fentanyl derivative (NPFD) was found at post-mortem and/or implicated in the death were extracted for analysis.
Results: NPSAD has received case reports detailing 298 deaths in England from 1998-2017 where a fentanyl was found at post-mortem and/or implicated in the death. Hospital administered fentanyl is "very safe", whereas pharmaceutical fentanyls in the community, procured either legitimately via prescription or illegitimately, carry high risk of unintentional death. Deaths involving NPFDs, which possess extreme potencies in comparison to morphine, have drastically risen over the past three years, and correlate with an increasing number of available compounds. Males, and those with existing opioid abuse disorders, are particularly susceptible to death related to NPFD intake.
Conclusions: The increasing availability of both pharmaceutical fentanyls and NPFDs represents a serious risk to public health. Unintentional misuse of these compounds in England is contributing to the exponential increase in fentanyl-associated deaths that is being observed at the global scale.
Methods: Case reports from the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths (NPSAD) where a pharmaceutical fentanyl or non-pharmaceutical fentanyl derivative (NPFD) was found at post-mortem and/or implicated in the death were extracted for analysis.
Results: NPSAD has received case reports detailing 298 deaths in England from 1998-2017 where a fentanyl was found at post-mortem and/or implicated in the death. Hospital administered fentanyl is "very safe", whereas pharmaceutical fentanyls in the community, procured either legitimately via prescription or illegitimately, carry high risk of unintentional death. Deaths involving NPFDs, which possess extreme potencies in comparison to morphine, have drastically risen over the past three years, and correlate with an increasing number of available compounds. Males, and those with existing opioid abuse disorders, are particularly susceptible to death related to NPFD intake.
Conclusions: The increasing availability of both pharmaceutical fentanyls and NPFDs represents a serious risk to public health. Unintentional misuse of these compounds in England is contributing to the exponential increase in fentanyl-associated deaths that is being observed at the global scale.
Affiliation :
Population Health Research Institute, St George's, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, UK