A subclass of synthetic opioids called nitazenes may be more powerful than fentanyl — and 1,000 times more potent than morphine — according to a new study.
The small-scale study, published in JAMA Network Open on Tuesday, found that patients who overdosed on nitazenes had to receive two or more doses of naloxone, a drug that reverses drug overdoses.
That’s compared to patients who overdosed on fentanyl, who only needed one dose of naloxone.
Nitazenes are lab-made opioids mixed into illegal drugs like heroin. Along with fentanyl, nitazenes are synthetic opioids, but the two are structurally unrelated.
However, both are among the “fastest growing classes of opioids detected in patients in the emergency department (ED) with opioid overdose,” according to the study.
A new class of synthetic opioids could be more deadly than fentanyl, according to a new study. DEA
The small study, published in JAMA Network Open Tuesday, found that patients who overdosed on nitazene were given two or more doses of naloxone, a drug that reverses drug overdoses. DEA
The drugs are called nitazenes. DEA
To carry out the study, the researchers looked at the laboratory results of 537 patients who had been hospitalized for a potential overdose between 2020 and 2022.
They found that 11 of those patients tested positive only for fentanyl, and 9 tested positive only for nitazene, such as brorphine, isotonitazene, metonitazene or N-piperidinyl etonitazene.
“Physicians should be aware of these opioids in the drug supply so that they are adequately prepared to care for these patients and anticipate the need to use multiple doses of naloxone,” wrote the study’s authors, who come from organizations such as the Icahn School of Medicine of New York at the Mount Sinai Health Network and Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania.
“Physicians should be aware of these opioids in the drug supply so that they are adequately prepared to care for these patients and anticipate the need to use multiple doses of naloxone,” the study’s authors wrote. DEA
They found that 11 patients tested positive only for fentanyl, while 9 tested positive only for nitazene, such as brorphine, isotonitazene, metonitazene or N-piperidinyl etonitazene.CBP
The FDNY and EMTs responded to two overdoses at the same location, Mercer Street north of Houston Street, earlier this month. William Farrington
The study also showed that metonitazene overdoses were associated with heart attacks, as well as more naloxone doses overall. These patients also exhibited higher rates of heart attack and death than those involving other substances.
Researchers found that 66.6% of patients who overdosed on nitazenes had to receive two or more doses of naloxone, compared to 36.4% of fentanyl patients.
Intubation, a process in which a tube is inserted to keep the trachea open, was performed in 50% of the patients using metonitazene, while only 27% of the fentanyl patients were intubated.
The study’s researchers included those from Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine. via REUTERS
The study was published in JAMA Network Open. DEA
“Findings from this study may begin to inform emergency care physicians regarding naloxone administration for NPO overdoses,” the authors wrote. “Our data have public health implications and may provide insights for emergency care clinics and the public who administer naloxone.
“Specifically, the need for a higher number of naloxone doses in the NPO group, as well as the association between metonitazene OD and cardiac arrest, poses a public health threat.”
Last year, the US Drug Enforcement Administration issued a warning about synthetic opioids, whose use is on the rise in the tri-state area and Washington, DC.
“Drugs that have never been approved for medical use, nitazines are obtained from China and mixed with other drugs,” the DEA stated at the time.
They also noted that when the drug is in powder form, it can be yellow, brown or off-white in color, and that it has also been mixed into heroin and fentanyl.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
