A Case of Phenibut Directed Detoxification Leading to Toxicity During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Phenibut is a non-Food and Drug Administration-approved gamma-aminobutyric acid analog marketed in the United States as an anxiolytic, cognitive enhancer, and alcohol withdrawal treatment through online supplement vendors. In this case report, we describe a woman's self-directed detoxification with phenibut used to manage withdrawal symptoms from fentanyl and benzodiazepines in March 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. CASE: A 38-year-old woman with severe opioid, benzodiazepine, gabapentin, stimulant use disorders developed altered mental status after oral phenibut ingestion intended to help self-manage opioid and benzodiazepine withdrawal. She chose self-directed detoxification as she feared COVID-19 exposure in detoxification facilities. Her altered mental status drove her to jump out a third-story window causing multiple spinal fractures. After a long hospitalization, she self-directed her discharge home due to concerns about COVID-19. Her premature discharge disrupted opioid and benzodiazepine use disorder treatment plans. CONCLUSION: This case highlights the risks of phenibut use for selfdirected detoxification. With COVID-19 related changes in the drug supply, people may be more likely to use online pharmaceuticals, therefore, substance use assessments should inquire about the online acquisition of new psychoactive drugs. Public health messaging regarding the risks of infectious disease transmission in addiction care settings is needed to guide addiction treatment choices among people who use substances.

"No home to take methadone to": Experiences with addiction services during the COVID-19 pandemic among survivors of opioid overdose in Boston.

INTRODUCTION: We conducted a qualitative study to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on experiences with addiction treatment and harm reduction services. METHODS: The study recruited participants from Boston, Massachusetts, aged 18-65 who had a history of opioid use disorder and overdose, from a parent study (REpeated dose Behavioral intervention to reduce Opioid Overdose, REBOOT) to participate between August and October 2020. In-depth individual interviews explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on addiction service experiences. We conducted a grounded content analysis that examined codes related to addiction service access and engagement during the pandemic to compare and categorize participants according to their experiences. RESULTS: The study enrolled twenty participants. The mean age was 42 years; most identified as white (n = 16); ten participants identified as men, nine as cis-gender women, and one as a trans-gender woman. Participants described their experiences with COVID-19-driven changes to addiction care (methadone take homes, televisits for either buprenorphine or behavioral health services, and syringe service outreach) access and engagement as: 1) liberating (n = 7), 2) destabilizing (n = 8), or 3) unjust (n = 5). Participants in the liberating group found adaptations allowed for increased flexibility, freedom, and safety from COVID-19. This group was mostly housed and had strong social supports that facilitated participation in adapted treatment programs. COVID-19-related changes to addiction treatment disrupted routine and community supports among those in the destabilizing group. Participants in the unjust group felt that adaptations exacerbated inequities as a lack of housing and other social supports prohibited them from benefiting from the relaxed restrictions to methadone or buprenorphine. This group was mostly unhoused and found that adaptations did not adequately mitigate other inequities worsened by public health mandates for unhoused people who use drugs. CONCLUSION: Relaxed restrictions on medications for opioid use disorder created opportunities for improved patient-centered care. Concrete measures that address service barriers, such as phone or transportation access, may have reduced destabilizing and unjust experiences reported by our participants. However, addiction care inequities will persist if drivers of marginalization, specifically a lack of housing, remain unaddressed.

Adapting inpatient addiction medicine consult services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: We describe addiction consult services (ACS) adaptations implemented during the Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic across four different North American sites: St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia; Oregon Health & Sciences University in Portland, Oregon; Boston Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts; and Yale New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut. EXPERIENCES: ACS made system, treatment, harm reduction, and discharge planning adaptations. System changes included patient visits shifting to primarily telephone-based consultations and ACS leading regional COVID-19 emergency response efforts such as substance use treatment care coordination for people experiencing homelessness in COVID-19 isolation units and regional substance use treatment initiatives. Treatment adaptations included providing longer buprenorphine bridge prescriptions at discharge with telemedicine follow-up appointments and completing benzodiazepine tapers or benzodiazepine alternatives for people with alcohol use disorder who could safely detoxify in outpatient settings. We believe that regulatory changes to buprenorphine, and in Vancouver other medications for opioid use disorder, helped increase engagement for hospitalized patients, as many of the barriers preventing them from accessing care on an ongoing basis were reduced. COVID-19 specific harm reductions recommendations were adopted and disseminated to inpatients. Discharge planning changes included peer mentors and social workers increasing hospital in-reach and discharge outreach for high-risk patients, in some cases providing prepaid cell phones for patients without phones. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE FUTURE: We believe that ACS were essential to hospitals' readiness to support patients that have been systematically marginilized during the pandemic. We suggest that hospitals invest in telehealth infrastructure within the hospital, and consider cellphone donations for people without cellphones, to help maintain access to care for vulnerable patients. In addition, we recommend hospital systems evaluate the impact of such interventions. As the economic strain on the healthcare system from COVID-19 threatens the very existence of ACS, overdose deaths continue rising across North America, highlighting the essential nature of these services. We believe it is imperative that health care systems continue investing in hospital-based ACS during public health crises.