Evaluation of a fentanyl drug checking service for clients of a supervised injection facility, Vancouver, Canada

• Published in: Harm reduction journal Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 46 - 8
• Main Authors: Karamouzian, Mohammad, Dohoo, Carolyn, Forsting, Sara, McNeil, Ryan, Kerr, Thomas, Lysyshyn, Mark
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 10.09.2018; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Addictions; Alcohol; Analgesics, Opioid - poisoning; Analgesics, Opioid - urine; British Columbia; Canada; Chromatography; Clients; Confidence intervals; Consumption; Cross-Sectional Studies; Drug checking; Drug consumption rooms; Drug Contamination - prevention & control; Drug dosages; Drug evaluation; Drug overdose; Drug Overdose - prevention & control; Drug testing; Drug use; Drugs; Fentanyl; Fentanyl - poisoning; Fentanyl - urine; Harm Reduction; Heroin - chemistry; Humans; Injection; Injection drug use; Intervention; Naloxone - therapeutic use; Narcotic Antagonists - therapeutic use; Narcotics; Needle-Exchange Programs; Opioid abuse; Opioid-Related Disorders - prevention & control; Opioid-Related Disorders - urine; Opioids; Overdose; Prevention; Public health; Reagent Strips; Reduction; Regression analysis; Regression models; Services; Statistical analysis; Street Drugs - poisoning; Substance Abuse, Intravenous - prevention & control; Substance Abuse, Intravenous - urine; Substance use; Supervised injection facility; Urine; British Columbia; Canada; British Columbia Canada; Vancouver British Columbia Canada; North America; Substance use; Canada; Injection drug use; Supervised injection facility; Drug checking

British Columbia, Canada, is experiencing a public health emergency related to opioid overdoses driven by consumption of street drugs contaminated with illicitly manufactured fentanyl. This cross-sectional study evaluates a drug checking intervention for the clients of a supervised injection facilit...