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ANAHEIM, Calif., August 4, 2019 / PRNewswire / – AACC today issued a statement of principle calling for increased collaboration between clinical laboratories, the health community and federal agencies to end the epidemic of HIV / AIDS. 39; opioids. The statement stresses that laboratories are vital to preventing opioid abuse and urges the medical community and the government to leverage the expertise of clinical laboratory professionals to combat the overdose of opioids. overdoses in the United States.
Between 2016 and 2017, fatal overdoses caused by synthetic opioids jumped 46%, which contributed significantly to the more than 70,000 drug overdose deaths in 2017. Synthetic opioids are so lethal because of their extreme power, but also because often can not detect them. It is therefore difficult to determine whether synthetic opioids cause overdose and detect when a patient is abusing synthetic opioids. Laboratories with appropriate experts and appropriate instrumentation and testing can identify many synthetic opioids that would otherwise have been overlooked. Without this information, patients may not receive critical treatment for addiction or overdose. Clinicians particularly need to know if an overdose is due to a long-acting synthetic opioid, because in this case, patients may need additional doses of the opioid antidote naloxone to prevent a relapse of symptoms of overdose . Public health officials also need to know the specific drugs that people use in their area so that they can predict overdose epidemics and coordinate prevention efforts quickly.
To improve the national response to synthetic opioids, the AACC encourages clinical care teams to include laboratory experts and encourages Congress and federal agencies to strengthen the laboratories' ability to identify emerging trends in the field of clinical opioids. use of drugs. Laboratory experts have in-depth knowledge of the appropriate use and limitations of drug testing, and can advise clinical care teams about ordering tests and interpreting results so that drug-addicted patients and overdosers receive the best treatment. Laboratory experts have also developed sophisticated tests to detect the latest synthetic opioids. The AACC recommends that the Food and Drug Administration expedite the regulatory approval of these tests so that all health care facilities can use them.
In addition, the badociation is calling on Congress to fund an increase in the number of laboratories that identify synthetic drugs nationally and locally. The Congress should also fund the development of partnerships for rapid sharing of synthetic opioid data between forensic, public health and clinical laboratories and relevant government agencies. This will ensure that opioid abuse strategies are based on the most comprehensive and timely data possible.
"Clinical laboratories are often the first to identify synthetic opioids used on the streets and can provide critical expertise on the wide range of chemicals in these drugs and how often they are used in local communities," said Director General of the AACC. Janet B. Kreizman. "If health care providers and government work closely with lab experts, as recommended by the AACC, overdose victims and addicted patients will get the life-saving care they need."
About the AACC
Dedicated to improving health through laboratory medicine, the AACC brings together more than 50,000 clinical laboratory professionals, physicians, researchers and business leaders from around the world specializing in clinical chemistry, molecular diagnostics, mbad spectrometry, translational medicine, laboratory management and others. areas of laboratory science in progress. Since 1948, AACC has worked to advance the sector's common interests by delivering programs that foster scientific collaboration, knowledge, expertise and innovation. For more information, visit www.aacc.org.
Christine DeLong
AACC
Senior Manager, Communications and Public Relations
(p) 202.835.8722
[email protected]
Molly Polen
AACC
Senior Director, Communications and Public Relations
(p) 202.420.7612
(c) 703.598.0472
[email protected]
SOURCE AACC
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