Chelan County Combats Synthetic Opioids with Cutting-Edge Technology
Due to the ongoing shortage of forensic pathologists in the USA, many counties have been encountering delays when getting toxicology autopsy results. Previously pathologists would travel within their state to the smaller counties, like that of Chelan County, who don’t have access to their own medical examiner offices. However, with the shortage, these smaller counties are having to send bodies off to nearby offices, e.g. King County, for all their autopsies. Upon inconclusive deaths, samples must be then sent off to further locations for toxicology screening to be able to determine the cause of death. These secondary toxicology screening results can take a minimum of 6-8 weeks.
Chelan County Coroner Wayne Harris states that synthetic opioids can be quite challenging to identify during death investigations. In 2021, they had 6 overdose deaths in the county attributed to either fentanyl or a mix of fentanyl with other drugs. However, this number rose significantly to 20 in the following year. Harris noted that obtaining quicker results could alleviate some of the distress for the families and loved ones of those who have died from an overdose. Fentanyl is having a very negative impact in not only the Washington area but within the entirety of the USA it is appearing in drug tests more and more. “It’s infiltrating the community,” Harris says regarding synthetic opioids when interviewed on the Chelan County Connection Podcast. “It’s touching a lot of lives and harming many people.” Harris also noted that a lot of the deaths they are seeing that would have used to be more commonly caused by oxycodone, heroin, or methamphetamines are being overtaken by fentanyl use instead.
When the nearby King County Medical Examiner’s office implemented the MultiSTAT Wayne Harris noticed that they were suddenly able to get their results back within an hour and were able to provide a clear cause of death to families. Once he heard that the Evidence MultiSTAT was the tool aiding King County, Mr Harris became more curious about the machine and its capabilities to bring testing in-house that he began to look at options on how their coroner office could procure one themselves. In the 2023 county budget, commissioners granted Mr. Harris federal pandemic relief funding via the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to buy the Evidence MultiSTAT. In purchasing this analyser Harris says the device will save time compared to sending off samples to a remote lab in King County post autopsy, which can still require several weeks to process results.
The Evidence MultiSTAT is a fully automated analyser that uses revolutionary Biochip Array Technology to screen for 29 classical, prescription and synthetic drugs simultaneously from just a single sample, providing results within 30 minutes. The analyser works across a variety of different matrices such as blood, urine, oral fluid and hair to aid in any autopsy examination process.
Did you know that if you are based in the USA or Canada, you could be eligible for a full grant to assist with the purchase of our Evidence MultiSTAT analyser?
To combat substance abuse within the USA and Canada, certain bodies are offering grants to assist with tracking and preventing the misuse of harmful substances.
To learn more about grants visit our website: https://randoxtoxicology.com/grants/
To learn more about our post-mortem screening visit: https://www.randoxtoxicology.com/post-mortem-toxicology
Or email us at info@randoxoxicology.com