As xylazine’s presence in illicit opioid supply continues to climb, Pittsburgh, Penn.-based UPMC clinicians have developed new hospital protocols to improve care for patients exposed to the sedative.
The protocols address complex withdrawal symptoms and severe skin wounds linked to xylazine, a drug increasingly turning up in toxicology screens, according to an April 17 news release from the system.
The protocols were developed by a multidisciplinary team that included specialists in addiction medicine, emergency care, toxicology, psychiatry and surgery.
The new guidelines, published April 15 in the Substance Use and Addiction Journal, provide clinicians with a step-by-step approach to implement from hospital admission through discharge.
The initiative also includes educational resources for patients focused on wound care and harm reduction.
