Centre for Forensic Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
School of Criminal Justice, Faculty of Law, Criminal Justice and Public Administration, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Drug Alcohol Rev. 2024 Mar;43(3):787-798. doi: 10.1111/dar.13803. Epub 2023 Dec 25.
The administration of illicit drugs by injection is associated with considerable harm, including an increased risk of overdose. The chemical analysis of used syringes can enhance knowledge on injecting drug consumption beyond traditional data sources (self-report surveys). This additional information may be useful during significant global events like the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to examine a snapshot of the drugs injected at the Medically Supervised Injecting Centre (MSIC) in Sydney, Australia, in 2019-2020.
Used syringes were collected from MSIC across three periods throughout 2019 and 2020 (February 2019, March-April 2020 and June-September 2020). Drug residues were extracted from used syringes using methanol before detection by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The chemical analysis results were compared to self-report data obtained from MSIC clients.
Heroin (46-53%), methamphetamine (24-34%) and pharmaceutical opioids (15-27%) were the most common drug residues detected. The chemically detected drugs had declining coherence with the drugs self-reported by MSIC clients across the time periods examined.
There was no significant change in the drugs injected (heroin, methamphetamine and pharmaceutical opioids) across the three periods collected throughout varying COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Changes in the frequency of other drugs injected and discrepancies between chemical analysis and self-report were potentially related to regulatory changes, degradation or misinformed sales. Routine chemical analysis of used syringes has provided an alternative information source to promote awareness of current drug trends and aid harm reduction.
注射吸毒与相当大的危害有关，包括过量用药的风险增加。使用过的注射器的化学分析可以增强对注射吸毒消费的了解，超出传统数据来源（自我报告调查）。在 COVID-19 大流行等重大全球事件期间，这些额外信息可能会很有用。本研究旨在检查 2019-2020 年澳大利亚悉尼医疗监督注射中心（MSIC）注射的药物样本。
2019 年和 2020 年期间（2019 年 2 月、2020 年 3 月至 4 月和 2020 年 6 月至 9 月），从 MSIC 收集了使用过的注射器。使用甲醇从使用过的注射器中提取药物残留物，然后通过气相色谱-质谱联用仪和超高效液相色谱-串联质谱仪进行检测。将化学分析结果与从 MSIC 客户获得的自我报告数据进行比较。
检测到的最常见药物残留是海洛因（46-53%）、冰毒（24-34%）和处方类阿片（15-27%）。在所检查的时间段内，化学检测到的药物与 MSIC 客户自我报告的药物之间的一致性逐渐降低。
在所收集的三个时间段内，注射的药物（海洛因、冰毒和处方类阿片）没有明显变化，尽管有不同的 COVID-19 封锁限制。注射其他药物的频率变化以及化学分析与自我报告之间的差异可能与监管变化、降解或信息错误有关。使用过的注射器的常规化学分析提供了替代信息来源，有助于提高对当前药物趋势的认识并促进减少伤害。
