Analysis of rapid onset heroin overdose cases from a supervised injecting facility in Melbourne, Australia
Rapid onset heroin overdoses typically present as medical emergencies involving severe respiratory depression shortly after heroin administration. Some people appear more likely to experience a rapid onset overdose than others, but factors for this are unclear. Rapid onset heroin overdoses also more commonly occur on some days compared with others, which may indicate an interrelationship between personal risk and the unregulated drug market. Rapid onset overdose cases may play a substantial role in hypoxic-related morbidity and mortality associated with heroin overdoses.
Authors
- Monika Shrestha (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2517-4608)
- John Furler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0339-5848)
- John Strang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5413-2725)
- Yvonne Bonomo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2583-0687)
- Nathan C. Stam (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0176-1237)
- Basak Tas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3137-7631)
Institutions
- Royal Women's Hospital (AU)
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- King's College London (GB)
- St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne (AU)
- National Health and Medical Research Council (AU)
- Monash University (AU)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Addiction
- Published
- 2025-09-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70199
- Primary Topic
- Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Institute for Health and Care Research
- University of Melbourne
- NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre