Evaluation of Instanosis Xylazine Test Strips

Xylazine has been increasingly identified as an adulterant within the recreational drug supply. Originally formulated as a veterinary sedative, xylazine causes extended sedation and opioid-like CNS depressant effects within human. However, xylazine is alpha-2 adrenergic agonist and the opioid overdose antidote, naloxone, is an ineffective reversal agent. Routine exposure to xylazine has caused sever skin ulcerations and necrotizing tissue infections. Pharmacologically, xylazine and fentanyl have combined effects that result in eliciting a prolonged response or high. Increased co-positivity of stimulants has been reported which may be used to counteract the xylazine’s sedating effect. From 2019 to 2022, xylazine reports more than doubled for 30 states and 43 states reported at least one xylazine-related overdose. During the same period fentanyl overdoses in which xylazine was detected increased 276% and were primarily concentrated in the Northeast (MD, CT, PA). Due to widespread detection of xylazine across the United States, lateral flow immunoassay test strips have been developed as a field-based drug checking tool for applications within law enforcement, point of care, and harm reduction sectors. Implementation of xylazine test strips to determine if a sample contains xylazine will likely be rapid given the widespread acceptance and use of fentanyl test strips. To this end, xylazine test strips were obtained and evaluated to determine their accuracy and efficacy.

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