ArticleDrug and alcohol dependence reports2024
Xylazine awareness, desire, use and exposure: Preliminary findings from the Rhode Island community-based drug checking cohort study.
Article in Drug and alcohol dependence reports, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed.
- Interpol review of forensic drug chemistry, 2022-2025.Forensic science international. Synergy · 2026Review
- "Once I started going… I had this central wheel hub": Drivers of overdose prevention center engagement and connections to care in Rhode Island.The International journal on drug policy · 2026Article
- Navigating an unpredictable supply: lived experiences of xylazine exposure among people who use drugs.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- Xylazine in Ohio: Insights from individuals with criminal legal system involvement and a history of illicit stimulant use.Drug and alcohol dependence reports · 2026Article
- Self-Reported History of Precipitated Withdrawal: A Cross-Sectional Study of People Who Use Unregulated Opioids.Journal of addiction medicine · 2026Article
- Navigating an Unpredictable Supply: Lived Experiences of Xylazine Exposure Among People Who Use Drugs.Research square · 2026Article
- Xylazine Awareness and Suspected Presence in the Illicit Drug Supply Among People Who Used Stimulants in an Overdose Hotspot, 2023.Substance use & misuse · 2026Article
- Point-Of-Care Drug-Checking: Assessing the Rhode Island Drug Supply Using FTIR Spectroscopy to Detect Fentanyl, Xylazine and Other Substances.Drug and alcohol review · 2025Article
- Xylazine prevalence and concentration in the Los Angeles fentanyl market, 2023-2025.Drug and alcohol dependence reports · 2025Article
- Qualitative insights into drug use safety strategies and social support among sexual minority women who inject drugs in Baltimore, Maryland.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Prevalence of Wounds and Association With Xylazine Using Respondent-driven Sampling Among People Who Inject Drugs in Baltimore, Maryland.Journal of addiction medicineArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Background: Xylazine is an ⍺2 adrenergic receptor agonist and a veterinary sedative that can cause severe health complications yet interventions to detect and treat human exposure remain underdeveloped. Community-based drug checking services (DCS) involve the testing of small amounts of drugs to increase community knowledge of unregulated supplies and decrease harms. This study characterized xylazine awareness, desire, use and exposure among people who use drugs (PWUD) in Rhode Island, US. Methods: We analyzed data from an ongoing PWUD cohort study. In 2023, 125 PWUD were enrolled and surveyed. Using point-of-care Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-S), we tested a drug sample from each participant onsite and confirmed the results offsite at a laboratory. Results were conveyed in real-time, along with harm reduction education, referrals to resources and care. Results: Virtually all participants (99.2 %) wanted to avoid xylazine exposure. Half (51.2 %) knew what xylazine was, and a quarter (26.1 %) suspected previous exposure. Xylazine exposure was primarily surmised through sedating (45.2 %) and ulcerative (29.0 %) effects. Only 8.8 % of participants submitted a sample that they expected to contain xylazine. Xylazine was detected in 14.5 % of samples using FTIR-S and in 21.4 % of samples using a dual laboratory approach of gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF-MS). Participants thought that these xylazine-positive samples were fentanyl (78.3 %), heroin (13.0 %), or Percocet® (8.7 %). Conclusion: Implementing point-of-care DCS at harm reduction organizations could be useful in rapidly increasing xylazine awareness and engaging at-risk individuals in prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and rapid care for xylazine-related wounds.
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Registered trials
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