Psychiatric News (9/1) reported, “The percentage of overdose deaths involving counterfeit” medications “in the United States more than doubled between late 2019 and late 2021, according to findings (8/31)” published online Sept. 1 in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The study team came to this conclusion after calculating “quarterly percentages of overdose deaths with evidence of counterfeit pill use from July 2019 to December 2021 based on information provided by officials from 29 states and the District of Columbia,” then “also examined information about the demographics of the people who died by overdose, the circumstances of the death, and the” counterfeit pills involved.

Related Links:

— “Counterfeit Pills Increasingly Involved in U.S. Overdose Deaths, Psychiatric News, September 1, 2023

NBC News (8/31, Edwards) reports, “The number of people who have overdosed and died from fake prescription pills has more than doubled in recent years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.” The report by the CDC, “released to coincide with International Overdose Awareness Day, found that from mid-2019 to the end of 2021, overdose deaths involving counterfeit drugs more than doubled, from 2% to 4.7%.” Among deaths involving fake pills, “illicit fentanyl was detected in 93%,” and “more than half of the deaths – 57.1% – occurred among people younger than 35.”

The Hill (8/31, Sforza) reports, “In total, there were more than 54,000 overdose deaths with evidence of counterfeit pill use.” The report “found that more than half of the deaths with evidence of fake pill use were related to counterfeit oxycodone or with counterfeit alprazolam, which is more commonly sold under the brand name Xanax.”

CNN (8/31, McPhillips) reports, “Methamphetamine was detected in about a quarter of deaths where counterfeit pills were involved, while cocaine and benzodiazepines were present in more than one in eight cases.”

Related Links:

— “Overdose deaths from fake pills are rising, especially among younger adults,” Erika Edwards, NBC News, August 31, 2023

Bloomberg (8/31, Beckwith, Subscription Publication) reports, “The Biden administration announced a $450 million effort to fight overdoses caused by fentanyl and other opioids amid a nationwide surge that has become a 2024 campaign issue.” In a briefing Thursday, “White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden said…the money would be spent on prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery services, as well as cracking down on drug trafficking.”

The Hill (8/31, Gangitano) reports, “The investment on Thursday also includes the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarding more than $57.6 million to connect Americans to substance use treatment and recovery support services.” And the CDC “will award $279 million in Overdose Data to Action grants to states and localities to expand harm reduction strategies.”

Related Links:

— “Biden administration announces $450M in funding to beat overdose epidemic,”Alex Gangitano, Bloomberg, August 31, 2023

CBS News (8/31, Saint Louis) publishes a KFF article that reports, “Since the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline transitioned a year ago to the three-digit crisis phone number 988, there has been a 33% increase in the number of calls, chats, and texts to the hotline.” But “even with that early sign of success, the program’s financial future is shaky.” Although “the federal government has provided about $1 billion…to launch the number,” after that, “it’s up to states to foot the bill for their call centers.”

Related Links:

— “Most states have yet to permanently fund 988 Lifeline despite early successes,”Christina Saint Louis, CBS News, August 31, 2023

Healio (8/31, Weldon) reports, “Depression among children did not increase substantially between 2004 and 2019, according to the” findings of a 41-study systematic review and meta-analysis published online Aug. 28 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Study: Depression among children ‘uncommon’ in years before pandemic,”Rose Weldon, Healio, August 31, 2023

Healio (8/30, Hornick) reports, “The impact of COVID-19 extends beyond those who get infected and evokes symptoms of anxiety, depression and PTSD in their families, according to two studies published in Annals of the American Thoracic Society.” In one study, investigators “analyzed 90 families of patients who had COVID-19 between September 2020 and April 2021 to determine the prevalence of anxiety, depression and stress while their relative was in the ICU compared with after their time in the ICU.” In the other study, researchers “assessed 115…family members of patients with COVID-19 in the ICU across five states to understand how PTSD symptoms vary at different times points within 1 year of their relative entering the ICU.”

Related Links:

— “Families of patients with COVID-19 suffer with anxiety, depression, PTSD,”Isabella Hornick, Healio, August 31, 2023

The New York Times (8/30, Hoffman, Weiland) reports, “Narcan, the first opioid overdose reversal medication approved for over-the-counter purchase, is being shipped to drugstore and grocery chains nationwide, its manufacturer said Wednesday.” Earlier this summer, the FDA “gave over-the-counter approval to RiVive, a naloxone spray expected in early 2024. RiVive, manufactured by Harm Reduction Therapeutics, is intended as a low-cost product largely for outreach groups.” Pharmacies at “Walgreens, CVS, Walmart and Rite Aid said they expected Narcan to be available online and on many store shelves early next week.”

NBC News (8/30, Lovelace) reports the FDA’s approval means the drug “can be sold in even more places, including…airports and even vending machines.” It “could also be available to buy online from some businesses this week.” However, its price tag of $44.99 for two doses “may put it out of reach for some.”

CNN (8/30, Tirrell, Kounang) also reports.

Related Links:

— “Narcan Is Headed to Stores: What You Need to Know,”Jan Hoffman and Noah Weiland, The New York Times , August 30, 2023

CNN (8/29, Howard) reports, “A group of novel synthetic opioids emerging in illicit drugs in the United States may be more powerful than fentanyl, 1,000 times more potent than morphine, and may even require more doses of the medication naloxone to reverse an overdose, a new study suggests.” The new opioid, nitazenes, “are a synthetic opioid, like fentanyl, although the two drugs are not structurally related. In the small study published Tuesday in the journal JAMA Network Open most of the patients who overdosed on nitazenes received two or more doses of the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone, whereas most patients who overdosed on fentanyl received only a single dose of naloxone.”

Related Links:

— “Emerging group of synthetic opioids may be more potent than fentanyl, study warns,”Jacqueline Howard, CNN, August 29, 2023

mHealth Intelligence (8/29, Vaidya) reports, “Telemental healthcare utilization, which skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, remains ‘persistent and elevated,’ according to new research.” A study “published in JAMA Health Forum detailed an assessment of monthly telehealth and in-person utilization and spending for mental health services among commercially insured US adults between 2019 and 2022.” The research “shows that in-person visits decreased by 39.5 percent, and telehealth visits increased roughly ten-fold by 1,019.3 percent during the acute phase compared with the year prior.” Overall, “this represents a 22.3 percent increase in overall utilization of mental health services.”

Related Links:

— “Telemental Healthcare Grew Ten-Fold During Pandemic, Remains ‘Elevated’,”Anuja Vaidya, mHealth Intelligence, August 29, 2023

MedPage Today (8/29, DePeau-Wilson) reports, “Therapeutic doses of some selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may lead to cardiotoxic concentration levels associated with increased risk of arrhythmia in certain groups of patients, including those 65 and up,” investigators concluded in the findings of a 19,742-patient study published online ahead of print in the journal eBioMedicine. For the study, “patients had to have a” therapeutic drug monitoring “measurement of escitalopram or citalopram within the limits of quantification for inclusion.” The study revealed that in “patients 65 and over taking escitalopram (Lexapro) daily, about 20% were predicted to reach potentially pro-arrhythmic concentrations with a 10-mg dose, which increased to about 60% with a 20-mg dose.”

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)