Perceived occupational risk of fentanyl exposure among law enforcement

Attaway, Peyton R.; McDonald, Hope Smiley; Davidson, Peter; Kral, Alex H.

doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103303

Cited by 17 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…State leadership and community stakeholders were unified in preferring that public-facing deliverables not add to community fear and miscommunication about the drug supply. 22,23 They envisioned bulletins that inform stakeholders about a trend or, as appropriate, convey alerts when a preventable harm is clearly indicated. The format of the bulletins and alerts was iteratively designed through one-on-one and group consultations with harm-reduction agency partners and PDs.…”

Section: Envisioning a Cdcp Through Community Consultationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementation and Uptake of the Massachusetts Drug Supply Data Stream: A Statewide Public Health-Public Safety Partnership Drug Checking Program

Green

Olson

Jarczyk

et al. 2022

Journal of Public Health Management and Practice

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Context:The illicit drug supply is rapidly evolving. Equally important to gathering drug supply data for monitoring is timely sharing of information with people who use drugs, the providers who care for them, law enforcement partners, and public health stakeholders so that efforts to avoid harmful substances, take preventive actions, and better target interventions can occur. Program: The Massachusetts Drug Supply Data Stream (MADDS) is the country's first statewide community drug checking program. Founded on public health-public safety partnerships, MADDS collects remnant drug packaging and paraphernalia with residue from people who use drugs and noncriminal samples from partnering police departments. MADDS tests samples using simultaneous immunoassay fentanyl test strips, Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), and off-site laboratory testing by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Results are accessible to community programs and municipalities, while trend analyses inform public health for cross-site alerts and informational bulletins. Implementation: MADDS was launched statewide in 2020 and rapidly expanded to a multisite program. Program staff approached communities and met with municipal police and community partners to secure written agreements to host drug checking. Community partners designed sample collection consistent with their pandemic era workflows. Consultations with stakeholders gathered feedback on design and deliverables. Evaluation: The program tests sample donations on-site from community agencies and police departments, incorporates review by a medical toxicologist for health and safety concerns, crafts stakeholder-specific communications, and disseminates English, Spanish, and Portuguese language materials. For 2020, a total of 427 samples were tested, of which 47.1% were positive for fentanyl. By early 2021, MADDS detected shifts in cocaine purity, alerted communities of a new toxic fentanyl analogue and a synthetic cannabinoid contaminant, and confirmed the increase of xylazine (a veterinary sedative) in Massachusetts. Discussion: Community drug checking programs can be collaboratively designed with public health and public safety to generate critical health and safety information for people who use drugs and the communities where they live.

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Section: Envisioning a Cdcp Through Community Consultationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementation and Uptake of the Massachusetts Drug Supply Data Stream: A Statewide Public Health-Public Safety Partnership Drug Checking Program

Green

Olson

Jarczyk

et al. 2022

Journal of Public Health Management and Practice

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“…The video was widely reported by national media outlets and received millions of views before a group of interdisciplinary experts decisively rebutted the claim that the event was a fentanyl overdose (Figueroa & Kucher, 2021). This highlights the urgent need for corrective messaging (Attaway et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given the perceived credibility of these sources, this misinformation propagated widely across mainstream and social media, as well as through policing informational networks (Attaway et al, 2021;Beletsky et al, 2020). It may lead officers to take unnecessary precautions in responding to scenes where fentanyl is suspected, wasting time in effective overdose response.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can touch this: training to correct police officer beliefs about overdose from incidental contact with fentanyl

et al. 2021

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Misinformation about overdose risk from accidentally inhaling or touching fentanyl is widespread among police in the United States. This may aggravate already elevated burdens of officer stress and burnout, while chilling lifesaving overdose response. Police education has shown promise in reducing false beliefs about fentanyl. To better understand the potential of training interventions in correcting officer knowledge, we administered a 10-min online training with corrective messaging about occupational overdose risk from fentanyl contact to 204 police officers in Indiana. Overall, 129 officers (63%) completed baseline survey and 69 (34%) completed follow-up instrument. Using a 6-point Likert scale, we documented assent with the statement: “First responders who encounter fentanyl are at great risk of overdose by touching it or inhaling it.” At baseline, 79.8% expressed agreement, while 20.2% disagreed. At follow-up, 39.1% agreed, while 60.9% disagreed (p < .001). Baseline responses varied in that those officers without a college degree and those on patrol were more likely to report false beliefs. A brief online training intervention holds promise for correcting false beliefs about the risk of fentanyl overdose under circumstances commonly encountered by police.

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“…10 Fentanyl and carfentanil have been found as adulterants in street drug mixtures of heroin, cocaine, benzodiazepines, and methamphetamine, 7,11,12 which can lead to unintentional consumption and accidental overdose in individuals diagnosed with a substance use disorder (SUD) and occasional drug users. While it has often been hypothesized that first responders, law enforcement, paramedics, and customs agents may be accidentally exposed to fentanyl and its analogues as an occupational hazard, 13 the risk of overdose is largely anecdotal and thought to be low with the proper precautions. 13 Nevertheless, due to carfentanil's extremely high potency, the possibility of symptoms may be greater after exposure compared to other synthetic opioids.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While it has often been hypothesized that first responders, law enforcement, paramedics, and customs agents may be accidentally exposed to fentanyl and its analogues as an occupational hazard, 13 the risk of overdose is largely anecdotal and thought to be low with the proper precautions. 13 Nevertheless, due to carfentanil's extremely high potency, the possibility of symptoms may be greater after exposure compared to other synthetic opioids. Carfentanil may also be of concern to civilian and military personnel exposed to chemical attacks or deliberate poisoning.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficacy and Selectivity of Monovalent and Bivalent Vaccination Strategies to Protect against Exposure to Carfentanil, Fentanyl, and Their Mixtures in Rats

Crouse

Gradinati

et al. 2022

ACS Pharmacol. Transl. Sci.

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Drug-related fatal overdoses have significantly increased in the past decade due to the widespread availability of illicit fentanyl and other potent synthetic opioids such as carfentanil. Deliberate or accidental consumption or exposure to carfentanil, fentanyl, and their mixture induces respiratory depression and bradycardia that can be difficult to reverse with the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone. Vaccines offer a promising strategy to reduce the incidence of fatalities associated with fentanyl-related substances, as well as treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). This study reports monovalent and bivalent vaccination strategies that elicit polyclonal antibody responses effective in protecting against the pharmacological actions of carfentanil, fentanyl, or carfentanil/fentanyl mixtures. Rats were prophylactically immunized with individual conjugate vaccines containing either carfentanil- or fentanyl-based haptens, or their combination in bivalent vaccine formulations, and then challenged with carfentanil, fentanyl, or their mixture. First, these studies identified a lead vaccine protective against carfentanil-induced antinociception, respiratory depression, and bradycardia. Then, efficacy against both carfentanil and fentanyl was achieved through bivalent vaccination strategies that combined lead anti-carfentanil and anti-fentanyl vaccines via either heterologous prime/boost or co-administration immunization regimens. These preclinical data support the development of vaccines as a viable strategy to prevent toxicity from exposure to excessive doses of carfentanil, fentanyl, or their mixtures.

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Perceived occupational risk of fentanyl exposure among law enforcement

Cited by 17 publications

References 19 publications

Implementation and Uptake of the Massachusetts Drug Supply Data Stream: A Statewide Public Health-Public Safety Partnership Drug Checking Program

Implementation and Uptake of the Massachusetts Drug Supply Data Stream: A Statewide Public Health-Public Safety Partnership Drug Checking Program

Can touch this: training to correct police officer beliefs about overdose from incidental contact with fentanyl

Efficacy and Selectivity of Monovalent and Bivalent Vaccination Strategies to Protect against Exposure to Carfentanil, Fentanyl, and Their Mixtures in Rats

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