Managing xylazine exposure in opioid overdose patients
In North Carolina and across the nation, the veterinary sedative xylazine is increasingly detected in the illicit opioid drug supply and in opioid overdoses. Toxicology data from major US regions where xylazine testing was conducted has found that xylazine-involved overdose deaths increased nearly 20-fold between 2015-2020.
The NC Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS) recently released guidance to help clinicians understand the health impacts of xylazine exposure and appropriately manage patients exposed to the sedative through illicit drug use.
