Assessing cocaine use patterns in the Brazilian Capital by wastewater-based epidemiology

Abstract

The levels of cocaine (COC) and its metabolites benzoylecgonine (BE) and cocaethylene (COE) in wastewater samples from Brasilia, Brazil, were determined using liquid chromatography coupled to hybrid quadrupole-time-offlight mass spectrometry. The former metabolite was used to estimate cocaine consumption using a country-tuned correction factor that considers BE excretion rates for different routes of administration as well as the fraction of crack users in Brazil. A day-today analysis during a week indicates higher cocaine use in weekends with peaks on Sunday in both southern (7385±121 mg day-1 1000 inhab-1) and northern (3566±171 mg day-1 1000 inhab-1) areas of Brasilia. A significant high cocaine use was also observed in the Carnival Day of 2018 (6229±219 mg day-1 1000 inhab-1). COE/BE ratios were used to assess COC and alcohol co-consumption since COE is produced during the co-consumption of both substances. Higher ratios were also observed during the weekend. However, higher ratios on Saturdays rather than Sundays may be explained by the decrease of BE excretion during the co-consumption with alcohol, which may lead to an underestimation of the cocaine use estimates on Saturdays, as well as by different patterns of co-consumption by powder and crack users, where the latter usually drink lower amounts of alcohol. Our data suggest that only 3% of cocaine was seized by the local Technical Police during the study.

Long-term monitoring of drug consumption patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic in a small-sized community in Brazil through wastewater-based epidemiology

“…However, just a few previous studies for WBE of illicit drugs consumption using POCIS sampling were reported ( Baz-Lomba et al, 2017 ; Harman et al, 2011 ) and none of these studies evaluated the consumption of THC, the most commonly used illicit drug of abuse ( UNODC, 2021 ). Particularly in Brazil, only composite sampling was reported, with short-term evaluations, for COC ( da Silva et al, 2018 ; Maldaner et al, 2012 ; Sodré et al, 2018 ). In this study, a sampling campaing of almost a whole year was applied.…”

“…The consumption of COC in Brazilian cities was previously estimated, using 24 h composite sampling performed over 1–8 days ( da Silva et al, 2018 ; Maldaner et al, 2012 ; Sodré et al, 2018 ). These studies estimated higher consumptions of COC, from 700 mg day −1 1000 inh −1 to 6229 mg day −1 1000 inh −1 , with the latter referring to a composite sample collected in the last day of Carnival ( da Silva et al, 2018 ). Important to note that POCIS sampling provides an average concentration over the sampling period and is less affected by point variation in the use of a given drug.…”

Anesthesiologists' Conduct Assessment towards the User of Cocaine at SUS Hospital with Accreditation. Knowledge through Questionnaire

“…Drug abuse, especially with licit or illicit drugs, continues to grow worldwide and Brazil represents a large share [12,14]. Consequently, anesthesiologists may be involved in the care of patients under the acute and chronic influence of a myriad of substances.…”

Understanding Illicit Drug Use Trends During the Carnival Holiday in the Brazilian Capital Through Wastewater Analysis

“…A significant increase in cocaine loads was also observed during the Independence Day in US (Foppe et al, 2018), the Easter holiday in France (Thiebault et al, 2019), the Chinese National Day (Zhang et al, 2019), and the Brazilian Carnival (da Silva et al, 2018). Lai et al, 2013a) and Huerta-Fontela et al (2008) found that cannabis and cocaine use on Christmas and New Year's Eve increased in urban areas of Australia and Spain, respectively.…”

“…Lai et al, 2013a) and Huerta-Fontela et al (2008) found that cannabis and cocaine use on Christmas and New Year's Eve increased in urban areas of Australia and Spain, respectively. The concomitant use of cocaine and alcohol was assessed by da Silva et al (2018) through the high content of cocaethylene in a wastewater sample collected during the 2018 Carnival Holiday in Brazil. The authors suggested that cocaine use could be even higher, as the ingestion of ethanol with cocaine leads to the excretion of cocaethylene instead of benzoylecgonine, the main metabolite used to estimate consumption.…”