Deaths due to combined heroin and fentanyl use are increasing in the United States, according to a report released on January 27, 2015, by NMS Labs. The report focuses on the number of postmortem cases that tested positive for both heroin and the synthetic analgesic fentanyl (Report Shows an Increase in Heroin and Fentanyl Use). 

 

In 2014, the number of positive heroin and fentanyl postmortem samples spiked, the report shows. For example, in Q4 of 2014 a lab had found 90 positive postmortem samples of heroin and fentanyl, up %8900 from the same time in 2013 (one positive postmortem sample of heroin and fentanyl). The report also includes a geographic map that displays the distribution of heroin and fentanyl poisoning across the U.S. The map shows a high concentration of positive test results in the North Western U.S as well as in the states Virginia, Kentucky, and West Virginia.

 

After discovering the trend in early 2014, fentanyl detection was added to all the lab's postmortem panels. In just 90 days the lab saw 88 positive cases for both fentanyl and 6-acetylmorphine (6-MAM), a heroin metabolite, from across the U.S.

 

Cerilliant provides an extensive selection of Certified Spiking Solutions® for synthetic analgesics and opiates including metabolites, parent drugs, and degradants as well as their stable-labeled internal standards. These certified solutions are suitable for a wide range of GC/MS or LC/MS applications from clinical toxicology, forensic analysis, and urine drug testing to calibrator preparation and isotope dilution methods. Since opiates and synthetic analgesics are classified as controlled substances, we supply most of these reference standards as DEA-exempt solutions for added convenience.