Surveillance of drug abuse in Hong Kong by hair analysis using LC-MS/MS.

The aim of this study is to reveal the habits of drug abusers in hair samples from drug rehabilitation units in Hong Kong. With the application of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) technology, a total of 1771 hair samples were analyzed during the period of hair testing service (January 2012 to March 2016) provided to 14 drug rehabilitation units including non-governmental organizations (NGOs), rehabilitation centers, and medical clinics. Hair samples were analyzed for abused drugs and their metabolites simultaneously, including ketamine, norketamine, cocaine, benzoylecgonine, cocaethylene, norcocaine, codeine, MDMA, MDA, MDEA, amphetamine, methamphetamine, morphine, 6-acetylmorphine, phencyclidine, and methadone. The results showed that ketamine (77.2%), cocaine (21.3%), and methamphetamine (16.5%) were the frequently detected drugs among those drug abusers, which is consistent with the reported data. In addition, the usage of multiple drugs was also observed in the hair samples. About 29% of drug-positive samples were detected with multiple drug use. Our studies prove that our locally developed hair drug-testing method and service can be a valid tool to monitor the use of abused drugs, and which could facilitate rehabilitation program management.

An analysis of status of continued heroin/amphetamine abuse among outpatients receiving methadone maintenance treatment and related factors / 中国艾滋病性病

Objective To study the status of continued heroin/amphetamine abuse among MMT outpatients and related factors.Method Urine analysis was conducted for randomly sampled MMT outpatients,and the results were recorded and analyzed by considering the basic conditions of the tested subjects.Results Of the 179 sampled MMT outpatients,39.1%(70/179) admitted continuing to use drugs,of whom 16.2%(29/179) used heroin,18.4%(33/179) used ice,and 4.5%(8/179) used heroin and methamphetamine in combination;gender difference and regular methadone administration were two factors which were related to the continued drug abuse among them.There were no obvious differences between the outpatients who abused heroin and those who abused ice.Conclusion Serious attention should be given to multiple drug abuse among MMT outpatients and to the risk of new emerging drugs.