Recent research reveals a worrying scenario in the US, where many regions lack facilities that provide medically supervised withdrawal for teenagers under 18. The absence of appropriate solutions for teens is frighteningly apparent in light of the surge in adolescent overdoses and the fast expansion of purposeful and inadvertent fentanyl usage.
In a study, Oregon Health & Science University researchers pretended to be the families of teenagers who had just overdosed, CNN reported. To learn about possible options for detoxification and if these clinics offered medications to aid the process, they visited many juvenile addiction treatment centers around the US.
Only 63 of the 160 adolescent residential treatment centers that were contacted agreed to let teenagers detox on the premises. Only 18 provided buprenorphine, the only drug FDA-approved to treat opioid use disorder in adolescents as young as 16. Some institutions also did not offer any further drugs to treat withdrawal symptoms.
Alarming Trend
Lead researcher Caroline King, an emergency medicine resident at Yale University, expressed dismay about this circumstance and emphasized how some institutions provided no medication, meaning that kids are challenged and may not suffer as much as adults and that they deserve to suffer. In other situations, institutions gave young patients Gatorade and a cot.
The American Society of Addiction Medicine has voiced serious concerns about the dearth of facilities and professionals trained for treating teenage addiction as more teenagers may need medically managed withdrawal due to the rising usage of fentanyl.
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Despite the rising number of overdoses, Scott Hadland, chief of adolescent and young adult medicine at Mass General for Children and Harvard Medical School, noted that many teenagers with substance use disorders are not identified or connected to care, which contributes to the financial difficulty of establishing detoxification programs for young people.
Earlier this year, reports indicated that there was a 45% decrease in prescriptions of buprenorphine, one of the opioid addiction medications. Dr. Andrew Terranella, the CDC's chief researcher, expressed concern about this decline given the opioid crisis.
Hundreds of Thousands Killed by Illegal Drugs
Between 2010 and 2021, opioid-related adolescent overdose fatalities almost quadrupled, according to CDC statistics.
Similar to increases in adult overdose fatalities, fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times more powerful than heroin, is mostly to blame, per US News. Illicit fentanyl is offered in numerous forms, typically disguised as other prescription opioids or blended with illegal narcotics like cocaine and heroin to improve potency, causing users to take it and suffer severe effects accidentally.
Statistics from the CDC indicate approximately 109,000 overdose fatalities occurred in the United States in 2022 as the opioid crisis continues to exact a terrible toll, according to Forbes. These deaths are linked to synthetic opioids, mainly fentanyl.
Effective treatments for opioid addiction, include buprenorphine and psychotherapy. Though, practical challenges, including training requirements and patient restrictions, have hampered access to buprenorphine prescriptions.
However, this obstacle has been removed thanks to the latest omnibus package, which President Joe Biden signed in December, giving optimism for increased access to buprenorphine therapy for children and adults.
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