This article was published on July 24, 2022. It was last edited/ updated on July 25, 2022.
Given the seriousness of the fentanyl epidemic and the huge number of people who are dying each year due to it, all articles on this website about fentanyl and fentanyl analogs are being made available to everyone and not only to our Members (subscribers). Please share these articles widely by email, social media, and other means.
Here are the links to the articles about fentanyl and fentanyl analogs:
Why we MUST know about fentanyl and fentanyl analogs
Special tests are needed to identify fentanyl in the urine
Special issues in using naloxone for overdoses involving fentanyl
Special points about managing fentanyl opioid use disorder
Special points in the management of fentanyl opioid use disorder (addiction)
Fentanyl analogs and why they are so important
Why and how to use fentanyl test strips
How is illicit fentanyl used?
– Illegally produced fentanyl is sold as a powder or as counterfeit tablets (Kilmer et al., 2022).
– It is sold by itself or combined with heroin, cocaine, or other substances (source).
– When used intentionally, it can be misused through many different routes—orally, by smoking, by snorting, or by injection. In recent years, the use of fentanyl by inhalation has grown the most (Palamar et al., 2022).
Here are some important things that we can do to deal with the intentional and unintentional use of fentanyl.
Talk about fentanyl with persons who have a substance use disorder
Here are some facts that make it essential for us to talk about fentanyl with persons with substance use disorder involving a variety of illicit substances:
– Over 99% of deaths from an overdose of a fentanyl analog are accidental (Rauf et al., 2021).
– Frequently, users are not aware that the illicit substance like heroin, cocaine, etc that they are buying has been adulterated with fentanyl (Volkow, 2021).
This is why widespread education is needed about fentanyl and fentanyl analogs including:
– How potent and dangerous they are
– The risk of unintentional fatal overdose.
Use urine drug screens that include fentanyl
This is explained in some detail in the following article on this website:
Special tests are needed to identify fentanyl in the urine
Make HIGH DOSE naloxone preparations widely available
Why higher doses and more frequent administrations of naloxone are needed for treating overdoses involving fentanyl was discussed in the following article on this website:
Special issues in using naloxone for overdoses involving fentanyl
All persons with opioid use disorder should be offered medication-assisted treatment (MAT)
Persons with opioid use disorder are probably at the highest risk of using fentanyl or fentanyl analogs. This is because:
– They may buy heroin and not be aware that it has been adulterated with fentanyl (Volkow, 2021).
– Even if the user is aware that the heroin being purchased may be contaminated with fentanyl or a fentanyl analog, the person may have no choice because of the unavailability or high cost of uncontaminated heroin (Volkow, 2021).
– They may illicitly buy what they think is an oral opioid medication but is actually fentanyl.
So, to reduce the risk of fentanyl addiction and/or overdose, the treatment of ALL persons with opioid use disorder needs to improve.
The problem is that only a small fraction of persons with opioid use disorder who should be receiving medication-assisted treatment (MAT) are getting it.
So, please remember the following rule of thumb and tell others about it too:
All persons with opioid use disorder should be offered medication-assisted treatment (MAT)
Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) has convincingly been shown to be a very effective intervention that reduces both morbidity and mortality in persons with opioid use disorder.
Note: The treatment approach is called “medication-assisted” treatment because medications are used along with psychosocial treatments.
For details of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder, please see the following article on this website:
Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder
Serious problems can occur in treating fentanyl opioid use disorder
The initial treatment of persons who have been using fentanyl may involve not only addiction specialists but many of us nonspecialists as well. We may these patients in emergency rooms, on inpatient mental health units, while doing consults on non-psychiatric units in the hospital, and so on.
So, all of us should be aware that there are serious problems that can occur in fentanyl users if standard treatments of opioid use disorder are used without being aware of the special issues in treating opioid use disorder when fentanyl or a fentanyl analog are involved.
For an explanation of how the treatment of fentanyl opioid disorder differs from addiction to other opioids, please see the following article on this website:
Special points in the management of fentanyl opioid use disorder (addiction)
Simple and Practical Medical Education thanks (alphabetically) Jonathan Beatty MD, and Marina Goldman, MD, for peer-reviewing and approving this article (in July and August 2022).
Dr. Beatty is a board-certified addiction psychiatrist in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who has extensive clinical experience in treating patients with substance use disorders. His clinical practice website is https://wavetreatmentcenters.com.
Dr. Goldman is a board-certified addiction psychiatrist. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor and Core Faculty in the Addiction Medicine & Addiction Psychiatry Fellowships at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She also has a busy private practice in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania.
Related Pages
Fentanyl
Why we MUST know about fentanyl and fentanyl analogs
Special tests are needed to identify fentanyl in the urine
Special issues in using naloxone for overdoses involving fentanyl
Special points about managing fentanyl opioid use disorder
Special points in the management of fentanyl opioid use disorder (addiction)
Fentanyl analogs and why they are so important
Why and how to use fentanyl test strips
Opioid use disorder
Opioid use disorder is a VERY serious condition
Opioids in the urine drug screen
Opioid use disorder—Management
Clinical pearls on prescribing buprenorphine (Suboxone®)
Clinical pearls about prescribing buprenorphine: Part Two
Buprenorphine (Subutex®, Suboxone®)
Buprenorphine extended-release injection (Sublocade®)
Naltrexone (Revia®, Vivitrol®): Basic information
Tips on using naltrexone extended-release injectable (Vivitrol®)
Naltrexone extended-release injection (Vivitrol®): The how to
News: July 7, 2016. Buprenorphine prescribing limit raised significantly
Tips for our opioid-dependent patients
Loperamide abuse: Tips for mental health clinicians
NeuroStim System-2 (NSS-2) BRIDGE
Substance use disorders
Practice guidelines for substance-related and addictive disorders
How to learn addiction psychiatry
SAMHSA National Helpline (Treatment Referral Routing Service)
Tips on dealing with “slips” in recovery
Never crave alone
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