CDC Reports Death Rates from Fentanyl Analogs Doubled
The Waismann Method founder comments on the CDC's Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report' which states that the number of deaths from fentanyl and fentanyl analogs doubled in the first half of 2017 compared to the second half of 2016.
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., July 17, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- According to the CDC's Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report, the number of deaths from fentanyl and fentanyl analogs doubled in the first half of 2017 compared to the second half of 2016. This finding provides actual mortality numbers to widespread reports of the dramatic rise in fentanyl abuse and death over the last several years. Researchers report that one in five people who died from an overdose in early 2017 had detectable levels of fentanyl analogs in their systems. Eleven percent tested positive for the most potent fentanyl analog in the US, carfentanil. When present, fentanyl analogs contributed to the cause of overdose death in greater than 95% of cases.
The CDC's MMWR is based on some of the first data collected from the new State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS). CDC researchers surveyed samples from 10 US SUDORS states. Based on SUDORS mortality data, Ohio was particularly hard hit overdose deaths related to carfentanil and other fentanyl analogs—mortality was four-fold higher in Ohio than in the other nine SUDORs states combined in April 2017.
Because carfentanil is 10,000 times as potent as morphine, typical doses of common reversing agents are largely ineffective. The authors of the MMWR write that the 'highly potent nature of many analogs, particularly carfentanil, might warrant multiple administrations of…naloxone." Thus, victims who overdose on these highly potent fentanyl analogs may not be rescued, even if emergency responders reach them in time and administer standard treatment.
"We need to reach patients well before they reach the point of needing emergent naloxone," states Clare Waismann, founder of the Waismann Method™ a medical opioid treatment program. She goes on to say, "While the attention is focused on addiction, the individual is forgotten. Their basic emotional needs are not met and their hope never restored." The dramatic rise in deaths from fentanyl and its potent analogs speak to a dire need to effective treatment programs. Waismann adds, "The word crisis in opioid crisis is overused to the point that it sometimes loses meaning. The death rates published by the CDC yesterday show why the word 'crisis' is accurate and appropriate."
Clare Waismann also provides a bit of hope to an otherwise bleak CDC report, saying, "Addiction is a reversible consequence of an untreated condition. It is simply a part of a one's life, not what defines who they are."
About the Waismann Method®
Waismann Method® offers medical assisted opioid detoxification and rapid detox treatment in a Full-Service JCAHO Accredited Hospital in Southern California. Medically directed by Dr. Michael H. Lowenstein, the Waismann Method® is the premier medical opiate detoxification and rapid detox center in the US. Dr. Lowenstein is recognized nationally and internationally as an expert in opioid dependence and rapid detox treatment. He leads a team of healthcare professionals that consistently provide humane, dignified, and effective care. This commitment to providing excellent care and superior results is as strong today as it was 20 years ago.
SOURCE Waismann Method
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