Longitudinal patterns of opioid and stimulant use by route of administration among people who inject drugs in the South Atlantic fentanyl test strip study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Recent investigations indicate that people who inject drugs (PWID) may be transitioning from injecting fentanyl to smoking it. This study investigated transitions in illicit opioid and stimulant use by route of administration over 12 months among 541 PWID from the South Atlantic Fentanyl Test Strip Study (SAFTSS).

METHODS: We conducted latent a transition analysis (LTA) with 14 variables derived from self-reported frequency and route of administration for heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine/crack in the past 30 days over three timepoints (baseline, 6-months, 12-months). Recent experiences with abscesses were modeled as a transition moderator.

RESULTS: LTA identified four subpopulations: (1) standard frequency; (2) heroin-methamphetamine; (3) fentanyl-methamphetamine; and (4) high frequency. The standard and high frequency classes had the fewest transitions over the study period. The heroin and fentanyl classes exhibited the most transitions across 12 months, with the heroin class exhibiting the highest probability of transitioning to another group and the fentanyl class experiencing the most transitions from other groups. Abscesses moderated transition probabilities, particularly the fentanyl class.

CONCLUSIONS: A purely smoking or injecting subpopulation was not found amongst the SAFTSS cohort, nor was there evidence of transitions representing a complete or near-complete switch from injecting to primarily smoking illicit drugs. Results indicate a need to rigorously monitor changes in PWID's route of administration to ensure prevention strategies evolve with local consumption patterns and market shifts in the illicit drug supply.