District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences, Public Health Laboratory Division, Forensic Chemistry Unit, 401 E Street SW, Washington, D.C., USA.
District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences, Public Health Laboratory Division, Forensic Chemistry Unit, 401 E Street SW, Washington, D.C., USA.
Forensic Sci Int. 2021 Dec;329:111083. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2021.111083. Epub 2021 Oct 27.
For the first time in Washington, D.C., an analysis of drug residue from used needle-exchange syringes has been performed. This analysis is part of a larger initiative to understand the District of Columbia's illicit drug supply and its intravenous (IV) user's consumption trends as our nation faces the opioid epidemic. The goal of this study is to develop a more comprehensive monitoring program that provides real-time analysis necessary for public health organizations, in addition to providing initial observations of drugs detected. A total of 1187 syringes were analyzed over a period of nine months. Of these, 732 syringes (61.7%) were confirmed to contain a controlled dangerous substance (CDS). Fentanyl was detected in 490 syringes, the most observed CDS in all syringes analyzed. Heroin was the second most detected CDS, observed in 192 syringes. The third most detected CDS was cocaine, which was observed in 132 syringes, followed by the fourth most detected CDS, methamphetamine, observed in 82 syringes. Novel findings of this study include the first reported detections of methamphetamine, synthetic cathinones, and synthetic cannabinoids in used syringes in D.C. Ninety-seven syringes that contained no CDS contained a non-controlled substance of interest, such as diphenhydramine, xylazine, and etizolam. One limitation of this study is that this method cannot determine whether mixtures present in syringes stem from mixtures present prior to injection, back-to-back usage, or sharing of needles. This preliminary study illustrates the strength of surveillance to monitor drug trends and can be used to detect emerging novel dangerous substances in the future.
这是华盛顿特区首次对使用过的针具交换注射器中的药物残留进行分析。这项分析是了解哥伦比亚特区非法毒品供应及其静脉（IV）使用者消费趋势的更大计划的一部分，因为我们的国家正面临阿片类药物流行。这项研究的目的是建立一个更全面的监测计划，为公共卫生组织提供实时分析，除了提供检测到的药物的初步观察结果。在九个月的时间里，共分析了 1187 个注射器。其中，732 个注射器（61.7%）被确认为含有受控危险物质（CDS）。在 490 个注射器中检测到芬太尼，这是所有分析的注射器中观察到的最常见 CDS。海洛因是第二个最常见的检测到的 CDS，在 192 个注射器中观察到。第三个最常见的 CDS 是可卡因，在 132 个注射器中观察到，其次是第四个最常见的 CDS，甲基苯丙胺，在 82 个注射器中观察到。这项研究的新发现包括在华盛顿特区使用过的注射器中首次报告检测到甲基苯丙胺、合成苯丙胺和合成大麻素。97 个不含 CDS 的注射器含有感兴趣的非受控物质，如苯海拉明、唑拉西泮和依替唑仑。这项研究的一个限制是，这种方法无法确定注射器中存在的混合物是来自注射前、连续使用还是共用针具。这项初步研究说明了监测的优势，可以用来检测未来新出现的危险物质。
