Archived Live Webinar
When:
This webinar originally occured on Wednesday, July 12th, 2023 from 1pm - 2pm ET. All presentations and materials have been archived for you to access as On-Demand content. Xylazine emerged as a common adulterant in the Northeast United States in 2019 and has subsequently spread westward. In some urban centers as much as 90% of the fentanyl is adulterated with xylazine. Xylazine is a veterinary sedative not approved for use in humans and can add to the CNS depressant effects of fentanyl when they are co-ingested.
The presentation will review the pharmacology of xylazine and other related veterinary adulterants. It will also consider toxicological findings of concentrations of fentanyl and xylazine in medicolegal death investigation, and the reported adverse effects including severe skin lesions. Data from public health drug checking programs will be described also, documenting the spread of xylazine in the illicit opioid supply. The presentation will conclude with guidance on the interpretation of xylazine concentrations in postmortem toxicology casework.
Detailed Learning objectives:
- Be able to describe the toxicology and pharmacology of xylazine.
- Be able to evaluate the significance of a finding of xylazine in a postmortem or clinical toxicology case.
- Be able to Identify other veterinary adulterants commonly found in the illicit opioid supply and their pharmacological properties.
