(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — An emergency physician is warning of a rising number of overdose deaths linked to a pair of drugs, including one intended for animals.
Dr. Neeraj Chhabra, a toxicologist with Cook County Health, said one of 9 people who die of fentanyl overdoses also tested positive for Xylazine, an animal sedative.
“Xylazine has a pretty profound sedative effects that can cause — in addition to sedation — low blood pressure and low heart rate. And when you combine that with the respiratory depressant effects from opioids such as fentanyl that can be fatal,” he said.
Combining the drugs also makes it harder to revive someone who has overdosed, he adds.
Cook County Health is working with community groups to raise awareness of the problem and reduce the number of overdose deaths, Chhabra said.
He's also calling for the elimination of barriers to alternative drugs for opioid abusers to help them end their addictions.
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