| Methadone-related deaths in Hennepin County, Minnesota: 1992-2002. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 12762545 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) is the only currently established medical therapy for heroin addiction. However, MMT still remains controversial. In Hennepin County, Minnesota, methadone is one of the top ten drugs reported in medical examiner investigated deaths and one of the most commonly diverted pharmaceuticals. This report reviews the role of methadone in medical examiner deaths over a 10-year period, 1992-2002. We compare cause and manner of death (accidental, natural, suicide) and methadone blood concentrations for decedents who were members of MMT programs with illicit users and those prescribed methadone for chronic pain. Findings reveal that 65% of decedents with measurable blood methadone concentrations were not participating in MMT programs. A total of 96 cases were identified, with the majority white (90.5%) and male (76.8%). MMTP program members were the minority (34.7%) of the methadone positive deaths and 39% were illicit users. Fifteen percent were chronic pain patients with almost half of this group dying from overdose. Methadone concentrations of drug caused/related deaths (0.18-3.99 mg/L) overlapped with those of deaths not attributable to methadone (0.18-3.03 mg/L) with no definable lethal level. Interpretation of methadone blood concentrations must be done in the context of the clinical history for determining cause of death, and may be confounded by postmortem redistribution. |
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Authors:
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Angelique Gagajewski; Fred S Apple |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Journal of forensic sciences Volume: 48 ISSN: 0022-1198 ISO Abbreviation: J. Forensic Sci. Publication Date: 2003 May |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2003-05-23 Completed Date: 2003-07-28 Revised Date: 2006-11-15 |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 0375370 Medline TA: J Forensic Sci Country: United States |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 668-71 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN 55415, USA. |
Export Citation:
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APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Adult Aged Aged, 80 and over Cause of Death Female Forensic Medicine Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Humans Incidence Male Methadone / blood, poisoning*, therapeutic use Middle Aged Minnesota / epidemiology Narcotic Antagonists / blood, poisoning*, therapeutic use Narcotics / blood, poisoning*, therapeutic use Overdose / mortality Substance-Related Disorders / epidemiology*, rehabilitation |
| Chemical | |
Reg. No./Substance:
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0/Narcotic Antagonists; 0/Narcotics; 76-99-3/Methadone |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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