ReviewJournal of addiction medicine
Misuse of Novel Synthetic Opioids: A Deadly New Trend.
Review in Journal of addiction medicine. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 92 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
92 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 282 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exploring the Confluence of Animal Medicine and its Implications for Human Health: A Systematic Literature Review.Current neuropharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Regulatory Policies for Alcohol, other Psychoactive Substances and Addictive Behaviours: The Role of Level of Use and Potency. A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Pooled it
- A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Prevalence of Methamphetamine Abuse in Iranian High School Students.Journal of medicine and lifePooled it
- Landscaping the Nitazene Scaffold to Identify Novel Mu-Opioid Receptor Modulators: From Molecular Design and Chemical Synthesis to Pharmacological Profiling.Journal of medicinal chemistry · 2026Article
- Computational design of dynamic biosensors for emerging synthetic opioids.Nature communications · 2026Article
- The Toxicology Investigators Consortium 2024 Annual Report.Journal of medical toxicology : official journal of the American College of Medical Toxicology · 2026Article
- Novel Synthetic Opioids (NSOs) and Their Evolving Crisis: Utilising NPSPharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Review
- In vitro and in vivo pharmacological characterization of fentanyl analogs.Neuropharmacology · 2025Article
- Article
- Methylphenidate as a Novel Adjunct in Opioid-Taking Patients: Insights into Dopaminergic Neuroadaptation and Hypoactive Delirium.Brain sciences · 2025Review
- Computational design of dynamic biosensors for emerging synthetic opioids.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Characteristics of take-home fentanyl test strip use and support for drug checking services among people who use heroin in Australia: learnings for an increasingly complex drug market.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- An "On-Off" AIE-Based Lock-and-Key Fluorescent Probe System for Detection of Fentanyl/Norfentanyl.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The development of opioid vaccines as a novel strategy for the treatment of opioid use disorder and overdose prevention.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2025Review
- The Rise of Fentanyl: Molecular Aspects and Forensic Investigations.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- The risk of developing more potent fentanyl analogs: a mini review.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
- Plasma drug screening using paper spray mass spectrometry with integrated solid phase extraction.Drug testing and analysis · 2025Article
- Reinforcing effects of fentanyl analogs found in illicit drug markets.Psychopharmacology · 2024Article
- Opioid-Based Haptens: Development of Immunotherapy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
32 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
: Novel synthetic opioids (NSOs) include various analogs of fentanyl and newly emerging non-fentanyl compounds. Together with illicitly manufactured fentanyl (IMF), these drugs have caused a recent spike in overdose deaths, whereas deaths from prescription opioids have stabilized. NSOs are used as stand-alone products, as adulterants in heroin, or as constituents of counterfeit prescription medications. During 2015 alone, there were 9580 deaths from synthetic opioids other than methadone. Most of these fatalities were associated with IMF rather than diverted pharmaceutical fentanyl. In opioid overdose cases, where the presence of fentanyl analogs was examined, analogs were implicated in 17% of fatalities. Recent data from law enforcement sources show increasing confiscation of acetylfentanyl, butyrylfentanyl, and furanylfentanyl, in addition to non-fentanyl compounds such as U-47700. Since 2013, deaths from NSOs in the United States were 52 for acetylfentanyl, 40 for butyrylfentanyl, 128 for furanylfentanyl, and 46 for U-47700. All of these substances induce a classic opioid toxidrome, which can be reversed with the competitive antagonist naloxone. However, due to the putative high potency of NSOs and their growing prevalence, it is recommended to forgo the 0.4 mg initial dose of naloxone and start with 2 mg. Because NSOs offer enormous profit potential, and there is strong demand for their use, these drugs are being trafficked by organized crime. NSOs present major challenges for medical professionals, law enforcement agencies, and policymakers. Resources must be distributed equitably to enhance harm reduction though public education, medication-assisted therapies, and improved access to naloxone.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.