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Evaluation ViewAttendees 52
Hot Topic Symposia

Adolescent Medicine

Critical Care

Emergency Medicine

Epidemiology

General Pediatrics

Hospital Medicine

Injury Prevention
Session Type: Hot Topic Symposia

Adolescent drug overdoses: A need to confront a toxic drug supply with policy and overdose prevention

Saturday, May 4, 2024
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM ET
Location: Metro Toronto Convention Centre: 104 CD
CE: Live CME: 1.5

Selected By: SAHM
Disclosure(s):
Michael S. Toce, MD MS: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.

Session

Description: Despite declining rates of substance use among US adolescents, there has been a dramatic rise in teen overdose deaths, fueled by the presence of lethal adulterants such as fentanyl and psychostimulants in the illicit drug supply. Drug overdoses kill the equivalent to a high school classroom of adolescents every week, and are the third leading cause of death in this age group. The worsening US overdose epidemic has occurred over four successive waves driven by, respectively, prescription opioids, heroin, illicitly manufactured fentanyl, and stimulants. However, little attention has been paid to the disproportionate swells in opioid-related mortality among US teens, including the 90% rise in fatal overdoses from 2019-2020 alone, relative to the 30% rise in the overall population.

This panel will explore opportunities to stem the tide of adolescent overdoses by revisiting the limited research on overdose rates, prevention strategies, and tailored policies, in the context of historical trends. The first presentation will explore and discuss the unique factors precipitating the rise in US adolescent overdose deaths with a focus on drug supply contaminants/adulterants like illicitly-manufactured fentanyl, xylazine, and designer benzodiazepines. The second presentation will consider the impact of over-the-counter status for naloxone on actual naloxone availability to adolescents, who have historically been excluded from overdose prevention interventions due to their legal status and concerns about neurocognitive development. The final presentation will address the fourth wave of opioid-related overdoses characterized by co-use with stimulants, and highlight new adolescent clinical practice guidelines on the treatment of stimulant use disorders.

Learning Objectives:

  • Describe the impact of drug supply trends, contaminants, and adulterants on adolescent opioid-related deaths across the four waves of the opioid epidemic,.
  • Compile lessons learned from the slow adoption of overdose prevention strategies like increased naloxone access, that can be incorporated into current policy targeting adolescents
  • Describe new clinical practice guidelines on the treatment of stimulant use disorder in the setting of the fourth wave of the opioid crisis

Presentations:

  • 2:00 PM – 2:25 PM ET
    The cost of a counterfeit: Combatting a toxic drug supply past and present

    Speaker: Michael S. Toce, MD MS (he/him/his) – Boston Children's Hospital

  • 2:25 PM – 2:50 PM ET
    Naloxone as a tool for reframing youth-targeted overdose prevention

    Speaker: Samara R. Jinks-Chang, MD, MPH, MS (she/her/hers) – Johns Hopkins Children's Center

  • 2:50 PM – 3:30 PM ET
    Stimulant and opioid co-use: New trends and treatments (25 min) Q&A (15 min) (all speakers)

    Speaker: Scott Hadland, MD, MPH, MS (he/him/his) – Mass General for Children / Harvard Medical School