RESUMO
Background and aimsCOVID-19 has infected more than 13 million people worldwide and impacted the lives of many more, with a particularly devastating impact on vulnerable populations, including people with substance use disorders (SUDs). Quarantines, travel bans, regulatory changes, social distancing and lockdown measures have affected drug and alcohol supply chains and subsequently their availability, price and use patterns, with possible downstream effects on presentations of SUDs and demand for treatment. Given the lack of multicentric epidemiologic studies, we conducted a rapid global survey within the International Society of Addiction Medicine (ISAM) network in order to understand the status of substance-use patterns during the current pandemic. DesignCross-sectional survey. SettingWorldwide. ParticipantsStarting on April 4th, 2020 during a 5-week period, the survey received 185 responses from 77 countries. MeasurementsTo assess addiction medicine professionals perceived changes in drug and alcohol supply, price, use pattern and related complications during the COVID-19 pandemic. FindingsParticipants reported (among who answered "decreased" or "increased", percentage of those who were in majority is reported in the parenthesis) a decrease in drug supply (69.0%), and at the same time an increase in price (95.3%) globally. With respect to changes in use patterns, an increase in alcohol (71.7%), cannabis (63.0%), prescription opioids (70.9%), and sedative/hypnotics (84.6%) use was reported while the use of amphetamines (59.7%), cocaine (67.5%), and opiates (58.2%) was reported to decrease overall. ConclusionsThe global report on changes in the availability, use patterns and complications of alcohol and drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic should be considered in making new policies and in developing mitigating measures and guidelines during the current pandemic (and probable future ones) in order to minimize risks to SUDs. Competing interestAuthors claimed no competing interest
