November 2023
An Analysis of the Prevalence of Xylazine in Overdose Cases in Miami-Dade County.
Xylazine is a veterinary sedative that is becoming an increasingly popular cutting agent in fentanyl samples. This combination of drugs is commonly referred to as “Traq”. Xylazine is not approved for use in humans, so it is not fully understood how xylazine contributes to overdose deaths. To gain insight into its prevalence in overdose cases, the Miami Dade Medical Examiner’s Office (MDME) reviewed all cases received between 2015 and 2022 in which xylazine was reported. Xylazine was identified during routine toxicology screening of either whole blood or tissue homogenates, which utilizes UCT’s Clean Screen® DAU extraction cartridges. The cartridges were conditioned, and samples were loaded at pH 6. The cartridges were washed, then eluted with an 80:20:2 mixture of dichloromethane:isopropanol:ammonium hydroxide. Samples were screened by either GC-NPD/MS or LC-Ion Trap-MS.
There were 170 overdose cases reviewed over the course of this study. Of those cases, 37% listed xylazine as the cause of death. 13% of those cases contained fentanyl and xylazine only, but the
remaining 87% of deaths were attributed to polydrug use involving two or more substances. Between 2019 and 2021, the MDME observed a sixfold increase in the detection of xylazine. Similar xylazine trends are being experienced in many regions across the U.S.
STYRE SCRREN
Clean Screen
The Analysis of Two Common Analgesic Drugs in Wastewater: Paracetamol (Acetaminophen) and Diclofenac
With diluted wastewater discharge being used as a source of drinking water in many locations throughout the world, it should be of concern which medications are commonly found in our wastewater. Researchers at the Institute of Environmental Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science & Technology have published a method for the determination of two common analgesics in wastewater using Solid-Phase Extraction (SPE) and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Photodiode Array (HPLC-PDA) analysis. Recoveries were greater than 95%.
Sample Preparation: The samples were filtered using a 0.45 µm syringe filter to remove particulates. The cartridge used was an Enviro-Clean® 500 mg/ 6 mL C18 (EUC18156). Samples were preserved with 0.1% HCl to pH 2 to decrease biological activity. Samples were stored in the dark at 4ºC until extraction.
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