Evaluation of blood lead level in methamphetamine users in Tehran

Injection preparation filtration and health concerns among indigenous people who inject methamphetamine

Introduction

Injecting methamphetamine poses significant health risks, but little is known about how methamphetamine injectors filter their injection preparations and experience related health concerns.

Methods

A chain-referral sample of Indigenous people who inject methamphetamine (n = 30) was recruited and semistructured interviews were conducted to collect information on filtration practices and health concerns.

Results

Filtration of the injection preparation was described by 53% of injectors. Elevated levels of concern for kidney disease, cancer and heart disease were observed among those who filtered their preparations (ranging from 50 to 56.3%). Concern about liver disease was the most frequent concern among those who filtered their preparations (62.5%) and was elevated in comparison to those who did not use filters (7.1%). Grouped logistic regression revealed a positive association between filtration of the injection preparation and overall health concerns expressed by injectors, after adjusting for gender and age. The marginal posterior distribution of the adjusted odds ratio for filtration of the injection preparation had a posterior median = 35.7, and 95% HPD interval = (5.1, 512.4).

Discussion

Results illustrate a positive relationship between filtration of the injection preparation and health concerns among Indigenous people who inject methamphetamine. This likely reflects the use of filtration to reduce harms, and further research is needed to understand the full scope of prevention that may be associated with filtration of methamphetamine injection preparations.

Blood-lead level in humans and drug addiction: a comprehensive study in Iran

Drug abuse has a high prevalence worldwide and causes many health-related disorders. There are limited human exposure studies on establishing lead exposure levels and their propensity for drug addiction. In the present study, blood samples were tested for lead (Pb) concentrations in illicit drug users together with the related symptoms in comparison with control group of non-drug users. The study was performed on 250 volunteers divided equally in four drug groups, namely, opioids, hashish, methadone, and methamphetamine, and one control group of non-drug users. Participants were recruited from drug addiction clinics and camps in Kashan city, Iran, who were using drugs continuously for more than 1 year. Control group was recruited from companions of the patients with no drug use history. In the investigated groups of drug users, the highest blood-lead level (BLL) concentrations were observed in the opioid group (mean 37.57 µg/dL) with almost 3.7 times higher than in the control group (mean 3.39 µg/dL). In the methamphetamine group, type of occupation had the significant association with BLL concentrations. The positive correlation was revealed in the opioid and methadone groups for BLL concentrations and the duration of drug usage. In the opioid group, the highest BLL concentrations were observed among users who used both methods of drug use: smoking and eating. Also, several behavioral and life-style factors were identified which influence the blood-lead concentration in the drug users. The results of our study revealed that the BLL concentrations in investigated drug users' groups were significantly higher than in the control group (P < 0.001). That can be related with the Pb contents in illicitly used drugs. Apart other adverse health effects, long-term illicit drug use might cause to lead poisoning.

Gastrointestinal Manifestations of Lead Poisoning: A Brief Report

Gastrointestinal (GI) manifestations of lead poisoning include abdominal pain, constipation, and diarrhea. Depending on the severity of a symptom, surgical consultation is required. The present study aimed to make a comparison between the mean blood lead levels of patients hospitalized for lead toxicity and the various Gl symptoms. A retrospective cross-sectional study was performed in 2020 at Khorshid Hospital, the main regional referral center for poisoned patients (Isfahan, Iran). A total of 82 patients aged ≥18 years who were hospitalized for lead poisoning during 2017-2018 were included in the study. Patients' information was extracted from hospital medical records, including demographic information, clinical manifestations, blood lead levels, and treatment outcome. The mean age of the patients was 48.18±11.9 years, 91.5% were men, and 62.2% suffered from multiple GI symptoms, with abdominal pain being predominant (31.7%). Blood lead levels in patients with multiple GI symptoms were higher than those with only one symptom (P=0.01). Surgical consultation was required in 14.6% of the patients. Multiple GI symptoms were the main predictive factor for blood lead levels above 70 mg/dL (P=0.03, Odds ratio=3.06, 95% CI=1.09-8.61). Given the prevalence of abdominal pain and its association with elevated blood lead levels, differential diagnosis of abdominal pain should include lead toxicity.

Evaluation of blood lead levels in opium addicts and healthy control group using novel deep eutectic solvent based dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction followed by GFAAS

Today, drug dealers and sellers add lead compounds to these substances to get more profit. As a result, drug users are heavily exposed to lead, and lead poisoning is clearly seen in most of them. Therefore, it is especially important to check the blood lead levels in these people. In this research, an efficient and eco-friendly pretreatment method was established by deep eutectic solvent for dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DES - DLLME) followed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) analysis. The selected hydrophilic deep eutectic solvent consists of l-menthol and (1S)-( +)-camphor-10-sulfonic acid (CSA) at a 5:1 molar ratio as a green solvent instead of traditional toxic organic solvents. Under the optimal extraction conditions, the introduced method exhibited good linearity with coefficient of determination (r²) 0.9975 and an acceptable linear range of 0.3-80 µg L^-1. Accordingly, the detection limit was 0.1 µg L^-1 (S/N = 3) for lead ions, and the high enrichment factor (240) was obtained. The proposed method was successfully applied to analysis lead ions in real blood samples, which is a promising technique for biological samples. The case samples were classified and analyzed based on age, duration of consumption, and type of substance. The results showed that there was no significant difference between blood lead levels in different age groups and different duration of use, while blood lead levels were higher in opium residue (shireh) users than in opium users.