ArticleAddictive behaviors2020
A fentanyl test strip intervention to reduce overdose risk among female sex workers who use drugs in Baltimore: Results from a pilot study.
Article in Addictive behaviors, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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
27 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 50 citations in OpenAlex.
- Interventions to improve health and the determinants of health among sex workers in high-income countries: a systematic review.The Lancet. Public health · 2023Pooled it
- Prevalence and correlates of fentanyl test strip use among people who use drugs in Rhode Island.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2024Trial
- Health inequities faced by sex workers.The Lancet. Public health · 2026Review
- Assessment of Test Strips for Detection of Fentanyl in Powders.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2026Article
- Take-home naloxone (THN) ownership among a community-based cohort of sex workers who use drugs in metro vancouver: longitudinal trends and structural determinants (2017-2024).Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- Xylazine test strip utilization among pregnant and postpartum women with opioid use disorder: A pilot study.Pregnancy (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2026Article
- "I wasn't scared of the dope I had anymore because I could test it myself:" A qualitative study among rural Appalachians who use drugs about experiences with a fentanyl test strip intervention.Research square · 2026Article
- Overdose-Related Cardiac Arrest in the Era of the Opioid Epidemic.Critical care clinics · 2026Review
- Harm reduction approaches for the use of benzodiazepines: a scoping review.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Association of fentanyl test strip results and change in drug use behaviors: A multi-state, community-based observational study.The International journal on drug policy · 2025Observational
- Prospective cohort study of fentanyl test strip use and distribution in three states: the stay safe study protocol and implementation recommendations for researchers.Harm reduction journal · 2025Observational
- Evaluation of nitazene immunoassay test strips for rapid in-situ detection of nitazene and nitazene analogs in illicit drug samples.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- U.S. substance use harm reduction efforts: a review of the current state of policy, policy barriers, and recommendations.Harm reduction journal · 2025Review
- Mini-review: Harm reduction strategies among people who intentionally use fentanyl.Addictive behaviors reports · 2025Article
- Community-administered naloxone for overdose reversal: The role of sex worker-led programming and occupational violence in a community-based cohort (2018-2024).The International journal on drug policy · 2025Article
- Fentanyl Test Strip Use and Overdose Risk Reduction Behaviors Among People Who Use Drugs.JAMA network open · 2025Observational
- A systematic review of macro-, meso, and micro-level harm reduction interventions addressing the U.S. opioid overdose epidemic.Drugs (Abingdon, England) · 2025Article
- Predictors of future overdose among people who inject drugs in Baltimore, Maryland.Drug and alcohol dependence reports · 2024Article
- Drug checking in the fentanyl era: Utilization and interest among people who inject drugs in San Diego, California.The International journal on drug policy · 2023Article
- North Carolina pharmacists' willingness to sell fentanyl test strips: a survey study.Harm reduction journal · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIn 2018, there were over 67,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States, with almost half involving illicit fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. While overall age-adjusted drug overdose deaths decreased by 4.6% from 2017 to 2018, synthetic opioid deaths increased 10.0%. This pilot study evaluates the impact of a brief fentanyl test strip (FTS) intervention to increase fentanyl awareness and reduce overdose risk.
methodsFemale sex workers (FSW) reporting past month illicit opioid use were recruited between April 2018 through February 2019 in Baltimore City, Maryland. At baseline, they completed a baseline survey, and received tailored harm reduction messaging, 5 FTS and training, and a naloxone kit, then completed a survey after one month. McNemar's test was used to compare repeated measures.
resultsAmong N = 103, 54% were <40 years, 59% were white, and 24% had overdosed in the past year. Among 68 who completed follow-up, most (84%) used ≥1 FTS to test their drugs, 86% had ≥1 fentanyl-positive result, 57% were surprised by the result, and 69% engaged in harm reduction behaviors following the result (e.g., asked someone to check on them, did a tester shot, used a smaller amount). Significant pretest-posttest reductions in daily illicit opioid use (77% to 56%; p = 0.003), injection frequency (40% to 25%; p = 0.004), benzodiazepine use (22% to 7%; p = 0.008), and solitary drug use (96% vs. 68%; p < 0.001) were observed. No change in preferring drugs containing fentanyl was found. Some (18%) gave their FTS to others. All but three (96%) reported being likely to use FTS in the future.
conclusionsWe found high FTS acceptability and reductions in drug use frequency and solitary drug use following FTS use among FSW who use drugs in Baltimore. These findings demonstrate that FTS-based interventions hold potential in reducing overdose risk.
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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.