During a cross-sectional study, patients who were admitted to the orthopedic department of the Urmia University of Medical Sciences were asked about opium/opioid abuse. Demographic characteristics, the pattern of consumption, the substance, the duration of the use, the duration of hospital stay and the cause of their injuries were recorded. Among 2,867 patients, 74 (2.5%) patients (71 men and 3...

BACKGROUND Like any other drug abuse, opium use is known to have detrimental effects on oral health. Oral hygiene neglect in opium users can lead to tooth loss resulting in further functional, esthetic, and dieting problems. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the association between tooth loss and opium addiction in a large-scale population. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study was pa...

J. G. Pughe, Esq., Officiating Sub-Deputy Opium Agent of Ally gunge, Sew an, To E. N. Farquharson, Esq., Opium Agent of Behctr. Dated ls< February, 18G1. Sir,?Before making oyer charge of this office, I would, in continuation of my letter to your address, No. 37 of 28th June last, beg to place on record two statements shewing the rates of mortality, causes of death, and ages of the deceased amo...

Sik,?With reference to the article by Colonel Chopra in your March number on ' Drug addiction in India and its treatment the value of lecithin in the treatment of opium addicts does not appear to have been assessed at its proper value. When attending the Ninth Congress of the Far Eastern Association of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene at Nanking, one of the things which struck me most was the grea...

BACKGROUND Impact of substance abuse on outcome of hospitalized patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) is a frequent question. Available studies show disagreements over its impact, thus we performed this study to find a clear answer. METHODS In a cross sectional study, 304 patients (include 152 consecutive opium dependents and equal number of independents) with acute MI admitted to co...

Both UNODC and U.S. surveys of opium poppy cultivation indicated a significant increase in cultivation and potential production in 2007, and production and export of synthetic drugs (amphetamine-type stimulants, crystal methamphetamine and Ketamine) from Burma continued unabated. (Note: 2008 UNODC Cultivation Report statistics were not available by our printing deadline.) The significant downwa...

BACKGROUND Opium is an addictive agent and one of the most common narcotics With great challenges of intraoperative hemodynamic instabilities. OBJECTIVES The current study aimed to assess the effects of clonidine on intraoperative blood loss in patients with and without opium addiction in femoral fracture surgeries. PATIENTS AND METHODS In a randomized clinical trial, 160 candidates for ele...

BACKGROUND Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the world. Determination of the risk factors and high risk groups plays an important role in the prevention and controlling programs. The present study aims to determine the relationship between opium consumption and severity of CAD. METHODS In this hospital based case-control study, 299 patients who wer...

The opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is one of mankind's oldest medicinal plants. Opium poppy today is the commercial source of the narcotic analgesics morphine and codeine. Along with these two morphinans, opium poppy produces approximately eighty alkaloids belonging to various tetrahydrobenzylisoquinoline-derived classes. It has been known for over a century that morphinan alkaloids accumulat...

Opium the "keystone" of empire in Asia The years between 1780 and 1842 were formative years for the opium trade. They were also the formative years of the British Empire. The opium agriculture in India changed from an informally cultivated cash crop to a centralized, systematized state-run industry. Before the Battle of Plassey, opium had probably served to provide a small buffer of cash for th...