| Title: |
Is nitazene-related mortality underestimated?:Findings from an in vivo and ex vivo rat study and pharmacoepidemiological analysis of coroner-reported deaths |
| Authors: |
Chen, Shuoqi; Aldabergenov, Daniyar; Alotaibi, Khalid S; Holland, Adam; Moore, Robert; Wood, Rebecca; Hudson, Simon; Milton, Holly; Menzies, Eleanor; Parks, Claire; Lawson, Alexander J; Harris, Magdalena; Singer, Mervyn; Dyson, Alex; Copeland, Caroline S |
| Source: |
Chen, S, Aldabergenov, D, Alotaibi, K S, Holland, A, Moore, R, Wood, R, Hudson, S, Milton, H, Menzies, E, Parks, C, Lawson, A J, Harris, M, Singer, M, Dyson, A & Copeland, C S 2026, 'Is nitazene-related mortality underestimated? Findings from an in vivo and ex vivo rat study and pharmacoepidemiological analysis of coroner-reported deaths', Clinical Toxicology. https://doi.org/10.1080/15563650.2025.2601141 |
| Publication Year: |
2026 |
| Collection: |
University of Bristol: Bristol Reserach |
| Subject Terms: |
/dk/atira/pure/core/keywords/FHS/school_of_psychological_science/targ_otherdrugs; name=TARG-otherdrugs |
| Description: |
Introduction : Nitazenes are potent synthetic opioids. Following reports questioning their post-mortem stability, nitazene-related deaths may have been underestimated in the United Kingdom. We investigated this using a rat model and regional coronial data, and also present national pharmacoepidemiologic trends in nitazene-related deaths. Method : In vivo/ex vivo study: Anaesthetised Wistar rats (n = 12) received intravenous nitazene (metonitazene, N-desethyl isotonitazene, or N-pyrrolidino etonitazene). Rats were euthanised 15 min post-administration if cardiorespiratory arrest had not already occurred (n = 8). Blood and urine were collected, with repeat blood samples taken following cadaver refrigeration (4 °C) for one week. All samples were immediately frozen (−80 °C). Upon defrosting, half were analysed immediately by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectroscopy with half stored at 4 °C for 1 month before analysis. Pharmacoepidemiology : Nitazene deaths were extracted from the National Programme on Substance Use Mortality in March 2025 along with all deaths from the Birmingham & Solihull coronial area (2019–2023). Descriptive analyses were conducted along with exponential smoothing models to compare observed and forecasted deaths in Birmingham & Solihull in 2023. Results : In vivo/ex vivo study: A small fraction of the nitazene detected in the immediate post-mortem blood sample remained in the post-mortem day 7 blood sample that had been refrigerated for 1 month. Pharmacoepidemiology : In Birmingham and Solihull, non-nitazene drug deaths rose 33% in 2023 compared to 2019–2022 (predicted n = 107, actual n = 142). By March 2025, 285 deaths with nitazene detections were reported to the National Programme on Substance Use Mortality, with small clusters in 2021 (n = 23) and 2022 (n = 15) before markedly increasing in 2023 (n = 131). Twelve nitazenes were detected with the predominant nitazene shifting over time (2021: isotonitazene; 2022: N-pyrrolidino etonitazene; 2023: N-desethyl isotonitazene). ... |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| Language: |
English |
| Relation: |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pmid/41655595; info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/hdl/https://hdl.handle.net/1983/759f487e-d08e-4fbf-8583-3fab6f226901 |
| DOI: |
10.1080/15563650.2025.2601141 |
| Availability: |
https://hdl.handle.net/1983/759f487e-d08e-4fbf-8583-3fab6f226901; https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/759f487e-d08e-4fbf-8583-3fab6f226901; https://doi.org/10.1080/15563650.2025.2601141 |
| Rights: |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess ; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.F4EFF54 |
| Database: |
BASE |