OBJECTIVE To investigate the relationship between the availability of paracetamol and its use for overdose and suicide. DESIGN Analysis of routinely collected information on time trends for paracetamol suicides, non-fatal overdoses, and sales. SETTING England and Wales and France. RESULTS There were strong correlations between trends in paracetamol sales in the UK and trends in non-fatal ...

BACKGROUND Overdose deaths involving opioid pain relievers (OPR), also known as opioid analgesics, have increased and now exceed deaths involving heroin and cocaine combined. This report describes the use and abuse of OPR by state. METHODS CDC analyzed rates of fatal OPR overdoses, nonmedical use, sales, and treatment admissions. RESULTS In 2008, drug overdoses in the United States caused 3...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects on suicidal behaviour of legislation limiting the size of packs of paracetamol and salicylates sold over the counter. DESIGN Before and after study. SETTING UK population, with detailed monitoring of data from five liver units and seven general hospitals, between September 1996 and September 1999. SUBJECTS People who died by suicidal or accidental overdos...

Massive drug overdoses provide a unique opportunity to observe human pharmacokinetic data not otherwise ethically available. They can also provide practical examples for teaching thoughtful application of the principles of clinical pharmacology. Following a case of clozapine overdose in which onset of toxicity was delayed by 72 hours, a probable explanation was found in an exploration of three ...

CONTEXT Hot weather taxes cardiovascular function and is associated with increased deaths from heart disease. Cocaine can cause hypertension, tachycardia, coronary vasospasm, arrhythmias, and increased core temperature. OBJECTIVE To determine the association between mortality from cocaine overdose and hot weather. SETTING New York, NY. DESIGN Retrospective review of medical examiner cases...

BACKGROUND Illicit drug overdose remains a leading cause of premature mortality in urban settings worldwide. We sought to estimate the number of deaths potentially averted by the implementation of a medically supervised safer injection facility (SIF) in Vancouver, Canada. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS The number of potentially averted deaths was calculated using an estimate of the local rati...

More than 81 000 people died of drug overdoses in the US between June 2019 and May 2020, a record-breaking number that CDC officials suggested is related to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.