ABSTRACT
From the introduction of opium into China in the seventeenth century, resulting in the undermining of its organized system, to the modern-day pharmaceutical production of synthetic narcotic analgesics, opioid compounds have infiltrated urban and rural societies alike. Opioid analgesics are readily and easily available. These compounds are not necessarily obtained only through illicit drug dealing; their supply is abundant due to fraudulent and illegitimate prescriptions as well as in the course of over-prescribing practices. The relationship between prescription opioid abuse and increases in heroin use in the United States is under scrutiny. These substances are classified as part of the same opioid drug category and overlap in important ways. Maintenance of vital functions, including respiratory and cardiovascular integrity, is of paramount importance in the clinical management of acute opioid toxicity. Gastric lavage and induction of emesis are effective if treatment is instituted soon after ingestion.
