Prevalence of xylazine in overdose cases: An analysis of Miami-Dade County medical examiner case data.
fentanyl
forensic toxicology
opioids
overdose
xylazine
Journal
Journal of forensic sciences
ISSN: 1556-4029
Titre abrégé: J Forensic Sci
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 0375370
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
Nov 2023
Nov 2023
Historique:
revised:
21
08
2023
received:
13
06
2023
accepted:
23
08
2023
medline:
27
10
2023
pubmed:
2
9
2023
entrez:
2
9
2023
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Xylazine sedative, muscle relaxant, and analgesic used in a veterinary setting. Although xylazine was never approved for therapeutic use in humans, it has become popular in the street drug market as a cutting or bulking agent in the fentanyl and heroin supply. Recently, there has been a significant increase in the detection of xylazine in postmortem forensic toxicology casework. Xylazine can be identified during routine toxicology screening utilizing instrumentation such as gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Using the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's LIMS system, all cases received between 2015 and 2022 in which xylazine was reported were reviewed. The cases studied include accidental drug overdose deaths in Miami-Dade County as well as Collier County (Naples), Florida. In total, there are 170 cases; the majority are accidental polydrug overdoses involving White males between the ages of 25 and 44 years old. Of the 170 cases, 37% listed xylazine as the cause of death. 13% of cases contained only xylazine and fentanyl while the remaining 87% of deaths were attributed to polydrug toxicity involving two or more substances. The prevalence of xylazine can be attributed to its increasing popularity rather than an increase in caseload. In 2019, xylazine was present in only 4% of all accidental fentanyl overdoses. By 2021, this percentage has increased sixfold, with xylazine present in 24% of all accidental fentanyl overdoses. Despite a decrease in fentanyl overdoses in 2022, the percentage of xylazine detection remained the same.
Identifiants
pubmed: 37658657
doi: 10.1111/1556-4029.15375
doi:
Substances chimiques
Xylazine
2KFG9TP5V8
Fentanyl
UF599785JZ
Central Nervous System Depressants
0
Analgesics, Opioid
0
Types de publication
Case Reports
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
2205-2210Informations de copyright
© 2023 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.
Références
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