Search
This study from Australia reminds us that what patients think they ingested isn’t always what they did ingest. A high percentage of “cocaine” and other stimulants was actually fentanyl or other opiates. The authors do a nice job referencing similar studies in the United States. Any overdose could be a mixed picture due to impure street drugs.
References
Emergency Medicine AustralasiaVolume 37, Issue 2 e70038
Original Research
Open Access
Opioid overdoses following use of cocaine and methamphetamine in New South Wales, and the public health responses
Peter Chisholm MBBS, B Med Sc, MPH, Jared Brown BPharm, MPH, Thanjira Jiranantakan MD, MPH, FAFPHM, FACOEM, Mary Ellen Harrod PhD, Catherine McDonald BSc, Una Cullinan BSc, Darren M Roberts MBBS, PhD, FRACP, FAChAM
First published: 03 April 2025
https://doi.org/10.1111/1742-6723.70038