Ten Takeaways from Quest Analysis of Test Results from Patients with Substance Use Disorders

1. 52% tested in 2017 misused their prescription drugs, the same rate as in 2016
2. The epidemic is shifting beyond prescription opioids to encompass other drugs and dangerous drug combinations
3. Drug mixing is the most common type of misuse
4. Misuse of heroin and non-prescribed fentanyl increased nearly 400 percent
5. 20% of test results showed potentially dangerous concurrent use of opioids and benzodiazepines in 2017, with at least one of the drugs not prescribed in 64% of those test
6. For test results positive for heroin, 83 percent were also positive for non-prescribed fentanyl, compared to 45% in 2016
7. Gabapentin misuse surged by nearly 800 percent among patients in treatment for SUD with 8% of the substance use patients using non-prescribed gabapentin
8. Use of medical marijuana surged by nearly 620 percent overall
9. Recreational marijuana use dropped more than 5 percent for substance abuse and general populations, though its overall rate of use, at 14.7 percent, was still higher than medical marijuana
10. The use of cocaine declined by 40 percent among all patients tested

Source: Quest Diagnostics
Source URL: http://newsroom.questdiagnostics.com/2018-09-06-Quest-Diagno...

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