A wastewater-based evaluation of the effectiveness of codeine control measures in Australia.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aim

From 1 February 2018, codeine was rescheduled from an over-the-counter (OTC) to a prescription-only medicine in Australia. We used wastewater-based epidemiology to measure changes in population codeine consumption before and after rescheduling.

Methods

We analysed 3703 wastewater samples from 48 wastewater treatment plants, taken between August 2016 and August 2019. Our samples represented 10.6 million people, 45% of the Australian population in state capitals and regional areas in each state or territory. Codeine concentrations were determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and converted to per-capita consumption estimates using the site daily wastewater volume, catchment populations and codeine excretion kinetics.

Results

Averag

SUBMITTER: Tscharke BJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10099390 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature