The antidepressant venlafaxine in overdose can lead to serotonin syndrome, seizures, QTc interval prolongation and can increase the risk of cardiac arrhythmias. It has been reported to be more toxic in overdose than other new antidepressants. We report a case of venlafaxine intoxication with a venlafaxine/O-desmethylvenlafaxine serum level of 2861/2670 ng/mL 22 h after ingestion. This is one of...

The heroin epidemics that spread across Europe in the 1980s resulted in increasing numbers of overdose deaths among opioid users (). Although the annual number of reported deaths peaked around the turn of the millennium, drug overdose still claimed more than 70 000 lives in Europe in the subsequent decade. Contrary to the promising overall trend between 2009 and 2013, when the number of reporte...

Zlotorzynska M, Milloy MJS, Richardson L, Nguyen P, Montaner JS, Wood E, Kerr T. Timing of income assistance payment and overdose patterns at a Canadian supervised injection facility. International Journal of Drug Policy, 2014; 25(4): 736-739. • Overdose and drug use data was collected at Insite, Vancouver Coastal’s supervised injection site, between March 2004 and December 2010. • By identifyi...

Introduction Drug overdoses and related deaths have been escalating nationally since 19701. In Virginia, the rate of drug overdose deaths increased 36% from 5.0 to 6.8 deaths per 100,000 population between 1999 and 20102. While initiated for bioterrorism event detection, syndromic surveillance has shown utility when extended to other health issues. ED visits may complement information from Over...

Background: Direct thrombin inhibitors and factor Xa inhibitors are gaining popularity as alternatives to warfarin for patients requiring anticoagulation. Toxicity due to these medications is difficult to manage because overdose experience is very limited and there is no clear guidance on when or whether to use antidote in this setting. Case Presentation: A 50-year-old man with normal renal fu...

Background Drug overdose mortality, particularly involving opioid analgesics, has risen steadily over the past two decades and is now the leading cause of injury death in the United States. Benzodiazepines are commonly prescribed concurrently to individuals receiving opioid analgesics. Little is known about the association between benzodiazepine-prescribing patterns and overdose mortality in th...

Acetaminophen poisoning remains one of the more common drugs taken in overdose with potentially fatal consequences. Early recognition and prompt treatment with N-acetylcysteine can prevent hepatic injury. With acute overdose, the Rumack-Matthew nomogram is a useful tool to assess risk and guide management. Equally common to acute overdose is the repeated use of excessive amounts of acetaminophe...

Volans GN. The relationship between plasma ibuprofen concentrations and toxicity in acute ibuprofen overdose. Hum Toxicol 1988;7:319–24. 13 Court H, Volans GN. Poisoning after overdose with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Adverse Drug React Acute Poisoning Rev 1984;3:1–21. 14 Temple AR. Acute and chronic effects of aspirin toxicity and their treatment. Arch Intern Med 1981;141(3 Spec No)...

TO THE EDITOR: We wish to call for the removal of scheduling and legislative barriers in Australia that prevent easy access to naloxone for administration by peers to people suffering from a heroin overdose. Use of illicit opioids, typically heroin, remains the major cause of illicit drug-related mortality in this country, with at least one accidental opioid overdose currently occurring each da...

OBJECTIVES We describe the development of the first community-based opioid overdose prevention and response program with naloxone distribution offered by a public health unit in Canada (Prevent Overdose in Toronto, POINT). PARTICIPANTS The target population is people who use opioids by any route, throughout the City of Toronto. SETTING The POINT program is operated by the needle exchange pr...