Current Ten Clinical Studies on New Psychoactive Substances in Taiwan

 

Year	Journal	University, Hospital.	Finding, Conclusion	Reference
2016	Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy	Kaohsiung Medical University	Controlled NPS items in Taiwan were far less than those in Korea, but the quantity of total NPS seizures, especially with ketamine, was much larger in Taiwan than in Korea.	1
2017	Forensic Sci Int	Kaohsiung Medical University	Japan is the most proactive country in terms of the NPS regulation with 41% of the total number of controlled NPS in Northeast Asia, followed by South Korea (21%), China (28%), Taiwan (10%)	2
2020	J Formos Med Assoc	National Taiwan University Hospital	The most common NPS was ketamine (21.7%), followed by synthetic cathinones (14.8%). Polysubstance use was more common in the NPS group than in the traditional group. Most patients were men (78.3%)	3
2022	Clin Toxicol (Phila) .	Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital	The most frequently detected drug was methamphetamine/amphetamine, followed by synthetic cathinones, ketamine and its two analogs, and opioids. Younger patients and women were more likely to have NPS detected in their urine samples. NPS-positive cases frequently experienced chest pain  tachycardia and suicide attempt/non-suicidal self-harm  whereas depressed consciousness was less frequent among NPS-positive cases than among other illicit drug-positive cases.	4
2022	J Formos Med Assoc	National Taiwan University College of Medicine	546 (73.7%) men and 195 (26.3%) women were enrolled. Compared to men, women were younger (32.03 ± 10.86 vs. 36.51 ± 10.84 years, p < 0.001) and more likely to use new psychoactive substances (NPS). Men were more likely to have HIV infection, whereas women were more likely to report psychiatric comorbidities. Women were less likely to have aggressive behaviors. The likelihood of rhabdomyolysis and intensive care unit admission was higher in men (p < 0.001).	5
2022	Clin Toxicol (Phila)	National Taiwan University College of Medicine	Tachycardia, hyperthermia, and rhabdomyolysis were more common among cathinone users than among meth/amphetamine users presented to EDs.	6
2022	J Formos Med Assoc	Taipei City Hospital	High suicidality and high psychiatric comorbidities in multiple illicit drug users call for special need for suicide screening and a more integrated care incorporating psychiatric and substance treatment.	7
2022	Toxics	Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital	The mortality NPS users were older, with deep coma, faster heart rate and respiratory rate, lower blood pressures and O2 room air saturation, more seizures, abnormal breath sounds, and had urine incontinence compared to the survivor patients. The mortality patients also had acute kidney injury, higher potassium, blood sugar, liver function test, and lactate level.	8
2023	J Forensic Leg Med	Mackay Memorial Hospital	NPS users are relatively younger, are more likely to experience facial flush and palpitation and engage in more self-harm, violence, and suicide than non-NPS drug users.	9
2023	Medicine (Baltimore)	MacKay Memorial Hospital	The NPS users were significantly younger than those with negative results on toxic testing (26.4 vs 37.5, P = .005). The heart rate of NPS users was significantly faster than that of the group with negative results of toxic testing (111.1 vs 93.5 beats per minute, P = .046). The heartbeats of INPS group were also significantly faster than those with a negative result in toxicology screen (119.6 vs 93.5 beats per minute, P = .024). Those who used classical illicit drugs combined with NPS had significantly higher palpitation than those with negative results of toxic testing (27.3% vs 3.1%, P = .017).	10

1.      https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27663984/

2.      https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28088088/

3.      https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32037264/

4.      https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35315299/

5.      https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35365378/

6.      https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35438590/

7.      https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35484001/

8.      https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35878292/

9.      https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36571928/

10.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37352073/

 

Edited by Yu-Jang Su July, 9, 2023 

Drug Overdose

 

Finding	Substance	Country	Reference
Top three types of substances were benzodiazepine (42.9%), mixed medications (32.1%), and acetaminophen (6.1%). Mean age: 39.2±18.3 years old Male intentional overdose patients were 8.1 years older than their female counterparts (45.3±19.5 vs. 37.2±17.5, respectively; P<0.05). Most intentional overdose cases occurred during the spring season (n=63, 32.1%), especially in male patients (n=28, 57.1%; P<0.001). Approximately 11.2% and 2% of the total patients were admitted to the Toxicology ward and intensive care units, respectively.	Overdose	Taiwan	[1]2022
Mean age of the cases was 23.1 +/- 7.3 years 84.1% of them were females. The risk factors were more significantly associated with males: chronic ethanol intake (p = 0.04), higher reported dose ingested (p = 0.01), higher latency time (p = 0.04) and longer hospital stay (p = 0.03).	Acetaminophen	Malaysia	[2]2010
Majority of cases were men (78%) Mean age was 37 years. (90%) were polydrug intoxications. Heroin was implicated in 67%. Residential address was the most  common place of death (67%). Women were 4 years older.	Drug-induced death	Norway	[3]2013
Suicide attempts occurred more frequently between May and November, and on Tuesdays.	overdose	Hong Kong	[4]2013
The mortality rate for overdose was 16.6 per 1000 PY for males and 13.74 per 1000 PY for females. In the multivariate regression analysis, the time from first ED overdose access (less than 1 year risk ratio [RR]: 7.07, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.32-9.39) was significantly associated with death by overdose. Males, subjects aged >30 years at presentation, patients who refused ED treatment, and those having previously contacted mental health services showed an increased mortality risk due to overdose.	overdose	Italy	[5]2016
Female sex (odds ratio [OR], 2.41); comorbid renal disease (OR, 4.22); untreated sleep apnea (OR, 32.32); receipt of long-acting oxycodone (OR, 4.76); and as-needed use of hydromorphone (OR, 2.73) were significant predictors of oversedation.	Overdose	United States	[6]2018

[1] https://www.spandidos-publications.com/10.3892/br.2022.1532

[2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20737523/

[3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23302498/

[4] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24011683/

[5] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26914353/

[6] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30190295/

 Edited by Yu-Jang Su   April 21, 2022.