The following alert was provided by the American Medical Association and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Health Alert Network (HAN) advisory this morning about medetomidine being increasingly found in the illegal drug supply. Medetomidine, which is not approved for human use, “can cause profound sedation, bradycardia, and hypotension. Stopping medetomidine following regular use may lead to severe withdrawal, similar to clonidine withdrawal, with symptoms including hypertension, anxiety, nausea, vomiting, and fluctuating alertness, that can require emergency or intensive care,” according to the CDC. The CDC further advises that “because fentanyl is involved in most overdoses involving medetomidine, opioid overdose reversal medications (e.g., naloxone) should be administered to restore normal breathing in suspected overdoses.”

The full HAN advisory provides additional information, resources and detailed recommendations for clinicians, public health professionals, laboratories and people at risk of overdose.

Read the full HAN medetomidine advisory here.