Corrections_Today_Spring_2025_Vol.87_No.1

HEALTHCARE COMMITTEE

– Holistic Treatment Approach: Ensure that healthcare and operations staff work together to communicate patient needs and relevant information that can be shared. – Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD): Having a robust treatment continuum for substance use disorders (SUD) that includes MOUD improves a persons’ chances of avoiding the illicit drug supply. In conclusion, xylazine presents another layer of complexity, mor bidity, and mortality associated with the larger opioid epidemic. All correctional agencies are or will be impacted by xylazine and should establish key partnerships, an interdiction framework, and healthcare education and treatment plans to support their respective populations. CT REFERENCES Barndollar, H. (2024, May 5). What is ‘tranq’ and why do police carry wound care kits because of it? MassLive. Retrieved September 16, 2024, from https://www.masslive.com/ news/2024/05/what-is-tranq-and-why-do police-carry-wound-care-kits-because-of-it.html Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Xylazine: Clinical Management and Harm Reduction Strategies for Patients. CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/overdose-prevention/ media/pdfs/2024/07/Xylazine-Clinical-Manage ment-and-Harm-Reduction.pdf Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024a, April 5). Understanding the Opioid Overdose Epidemic | Overdose Prevention. CDC. Retrieved September 16, 2024, from https://www.cdc.gov/overdose-prevention/ about/understanding-the-opioid-overdose epidemic.html Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024b, May 16). What You Should Know About Xylazine Overdose Prevention. CDC. https:// www.cdc.gov/overdose-prevention/about/what you-should-know-about-xylazine.html

Unlawful Import of Xylazine. FDA. https:// www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announce ments/fda-takes-action-restrict-unlawful import-xylazine Weixel, N. (2023, April 12). White House says fentanyl laced with ‘tranq’ drug is ’emerging threat’. The Hill. https://thehill.com/ policy/healthcare/3945198-white-house-says fentanyl-laced-with-tranq-drug-is-emerging threat White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. (2023a, April 12). Biden-Harris Administration Designates Fentanyl Combined with Xylazine as an Emerging Threat to the United States | ONDCP. The White House. https://www.whitehouse.gov/ ondcp/briefing-room/2023/04/12/biden-harris administration-designates-fentanyl-combined with-xylazine-as-an-emerging-threat-to-the united-states White House, Office of National Drug Control Policy. (2023b, July). FENTANYL ADULTERATED OR ASSOCIATED WITH XYLAZINE RESPONSE PLAN. The White House. https://www.whitehouse.

Chang, H., Kharrazi, H., Bodycombe, D., Weiner, J. P., & Alexander, G. C. (2018). Healthcare costs and utilization associated with high-risk prescription opioid use: a retrospective cohort study. BMC Medicine, 16(69). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-018 1058-y Drug Enforcement Administration. (2022, November). Xylazine. Diversion Control Division. https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/ drug_chem_info/Xylazine.pdf Friedman, J., Montero, F., Bourgois, P., Wahbi, R., Dye, D., & Goodman-Meza, D. (2022, April 1). Xylazine spreads across the US: A growing component of the increasingly synthetic and polysubstance overdose crisis. PubMed. Retrieved September 16, 2024, from https:// pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35247724 Johnson, J., Pizzicato, L., Johnson, C., & Viner, K. (2021). Increasing presence of xylazine in heroin and/or fentanyl deaths, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2010-2019. Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention, 27(4), 395 - 398. https://doi.org/10.1136/injuryprev-2020 043968 Papudesi, B., Malayala, S. V., & Regina, A. C. (2023, July 17). Xylazine Toxicity. StatPearls [Internet]. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ books/NBK594271/ Rubin, R. (2022). Warning About Xylazine, a Veterinary Sedative Found in Illicit Drugs. JAMA, 328(23), 2296. https://doi.org/10.1001/ jama.2022.20045 Theisen, K., Jacobs, B., Macleod, L., & Davies, B. (2018). The United States opioid epidemic: a review of the surgeon’s contribution to it and health policy initiatives. BJU international, 122(5), 754-759. https://doi.org/10.1111/ bju.14446 United States Drug Enforcement Administration. (2023). DEA Reports Widespread Threat of Fentanyl Mixed with Xylazine. DEA.gov. https://www.dea.gov/alert/ dea-reports-widespread-threat-fentanyl-mixed xylazine U.S. Department of Justice & Drug Enforcement Administration. (2022, October). The Growing Threat of Xylazine and its Mixture with Illicit Drugs.pdf. DEA.gov. Retrieved September 16, 2024, from https:// www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/ The%20Growing%20Threat%20of%20 Xylazine%20and%20its%20Mixture%20 with%20Illicit%20Drugs.pdf U.S. Food & Drug Administration. (2023, February 28). FDA Takes Action to Restrict

gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/ FENTANYL-ADULTERATED-OR- ASSOCIATED-WITH-XYLAZINE- EMERGING-THREAT-RESPONSE- PLAN-Report-July-2023.pdf

Harbans Deol, M.D., is the Deputy Chief Medical Officer at VitalCore Health Strategies.

Randolph Maul, M.D., is the Chief Medical Officer, Health Authority, at the Colorado Department of Corrections.

Jennifer Urra, M.P.H., R.N., is the Deputy Director,

Health Authority, at the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections.

Spring 2025 | Corrections Today

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