Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25499730›Full record

ArticleDrug and alcohol dependence2015

Drug-related deaths and the sales of needles through pharmacies.

Peter J Davidson, Alexis Martinez, Alexandra Lutnick, Alex H Kral, Ricky N Bluthenthal

Open access · greenAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 41% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Peter J DavidsonDivision of Global Public Health, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA. Electronic address: pdavidson@ucsd.edu.
Alexis MartinezDepartment of Sociology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Alexandra LutnickUrban Health Program, RTI International, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Alex H KralUrban Health Program, RTI International, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Ricky N BluthenthalDepartment of Preventive Medicine, Institute for Prevention Research, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
RTI International · USSan Francisco State University · USUniversity of California System · USUniversity of Southern California · US

Funding

Exploratory Research on Late Initiation of Drug InjectionR01DA027689 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI BLUTHENTHAL, RICKY N, KRAL, ALEXANDER H · 2010 to 2012
$1.7M
Assessing Patterns of HIV Risk Among IDUs in Neighborhood Environments over TimeR01DA023377 · NIDA · RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE · PI KRAL, ALEXANDER H · 2009 to 2011
$1.4M
A Mixed-Method Study of Injection Drug Use Settings Among FSWs in TijuanaK01DA032443 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI DAVIDSON, PETER JOHN · 2012 to 2015
$723k
NIDA NIH HHS 01DA027689NIDA NIH HHS K01 DA032443NIDA NIH HHS K01DA032443NIDA NIH HHS R01 DA023377NIDA NIH HHS R01DA023377NIDA NIH HHS R01 DA027689NIMHD NIH HHS L60 MD005619NIMHD NIH HHS L60MD005619
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundProviding needles to people who inject drugs is a well-proven public health response to the transmission of HIV and other blood borne viruses. Despite over a quarter of a century of research, new concerns about potential unintended negative consequences of needle distribution continue to emerge. Specifically, a claim was recently made that the introduction of pharmacy sales of needles was followed by an increase in overdoses in pharmacy parking lots. If true, this would have serious implications for the design of needle access programs, particularly those involving pharmacy sales of needles.

methodsWe examine spatial relationships between drug-related deaths and pharmacies in Los Angeles County (population 9.8 million) before and after the 2007 enactment of a California law allowing pharmacy sales of needles without a prescription. Seven thousand and forty-nine drugs related deaths occurred in Los Angeles county from 2000 to 2009 inclusive. Four thousand two hundred and seventy-five of these deaths could be geocoded, and were found to be clustered at the census tract level.

resultsWe used three methods to examine spatial relationships between overdose death locations and pharmacy locations for two years on either side of the enactment of the pharmacy sales law, and found no statistically significant changes. Among the 711 geocodable deaths occurring in the two years following the change in law, no death was found to occur within 50m of a pharmacy which sold needles.

conclusionThese results are consistent with prior studies which suggest pharmacy sales of needles improve access to needles without causing increased harms to the surrounding community.

Indexed as

CaliforniaCommerceDrug OverdoseFemaleGeography, MedicalHumansMaleNeedlesPharmaciesPrescriptionsHIVNeedle distributionOverdosePeople who inject drugsPharmacy

Identifiers

PMID25499730
PMCPMC4297731
OpenAlexW1998739402

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.