ArticleBrain sciences2025
From Veterinary Medicine to Illicit Drug Supply: Utilising Social Media to Explore the Rising Emergence of Veterinary Medicines in Human Health.
Article in Brain sciences, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Possible Signals of Ocular Disorders Associated with Gabapentinoids: A Three-Arm Study.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Automated Risk Assessment of Opioid Use: Analysis Using Pre-Trained Transformers on Social Media Data.JMIR infodemiology · 2026Article
- Another carfentanil fatal outbreak in Florida?Drug and alcohol dependence · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND/
objectivesThe misuse of veterinary drugs is a growing concern, with increasing evidence of their presence in illicit drug markets and their use as alternatives to traditional substances.
methodsThis study explores Reddit discussions on the misuse of veterinary drugs on Reddit, focusing on xylazine, carfentanil, medetomidine, pentobarbital, phenylbutazone, and acepromazine. Reddit was utilised for its abundant real-time data on users' thoughts and experiences with substance misuse. Through a combination of manual and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven thematic analysis, we examined posts and comments to explore patterns of misuse.
resultsThe themes analysed included adverse effects, polysubstance misuse, routes of administration, motivations for misuse, and methods of obtaining these drugs. Our findings revealed that xylazine, medetomidine, carfentanil, and pentobarbital exhibit significant potential for misuse, while phenylbutazone and acepromazine are not widely misused. Despite this, phenylbutazone and acepromazine have been identified as adulterants in the illicit drug supply in the United States. The most discussed themes included motivations for misuse, followed by public experiences and perceptions, as well as adverse effects.
conclusionsThe dual-method approach of combining manual interpretation with AI analysis allowed for a comprehensive understanding of social media discussions. This research highlights the importance of monitoring online platforms for early indicators of emerging drug trends, offering valuable insights to inform public health policies and intervention strategies. Impact Statement: This research highlights the growing public health risk posed by veterinary drug misuse, underscoring the need for enhanced monitoring, regulatory frameworks, and education to address their diversion into illicit markets. By leveraging social media as an early detection tool for emerging drug trends, our findings can inform targeted interventions.
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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.