Philly hospitals test new strategy for ‘tranq dope’ withdrawal – and it keeps patients from walking out before their treatment is done

Unimaginable pain and restlessness. Vomiting so frequent and forceful that it can perforate the esophagus. Blood pressure and heart rate so high that they damage the heart. Sweating that drenches…

Air pollution inside Philly’s subway is much worse than on the streets

The air quality in the City Hall subway station in downtown Philadelphia is much worse than on the sidewalks directly above the station. That is a key finding of our…

Philly residents with opioid addiction get medication from the ‘bupe bus’ − creating a path for treatment

A mobile team offering medication treatment to people with opioid use disorder showed promise in getting patients in Philadelphia to return for follow-up visits, according to a peer-reviewed study I…

Xylazine wounds are a growing crisis among drug users in Philly − a nurse explains potential causes and proper treatment

Warning: This article contains graphic images. Xylazine or “tranq” wounds – characterized by deep pockets of dead tissue – have become increasingly visible in Philadelphia among people who use drugs.…

New research suggests estrogen and progesterone could play role in opioid addiction and relapse

As opioid overdose deaths in the U.S. rose dramatically from 2014 to today, both Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey, cemented reputations as hotspots of the crisis. In Philadelphia, over…

Immigrant moms feel unsafe and unheard when seeking pregnancy care – here’s how they’d improve Philly’s health care system

Immigrants make up nearly 16% of Philadelphia’s population of 1.6 million, according to a 2024 report from Pew Charitable Trusts. Pew reports this marks the largest percentage since the 1940s,…

Philly has highest STI rates in the country – improving sex ed in schools and access to at-home testing could lower rates

Philadelphia ranks No. 1 among U.S. cities for new sexually transmitted infections – STIs – according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is…

Nitazenes found in 5 overdose deaths in Philly – here’s what they are and why they’re so deadly

The Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office found that nitazenes, a synthetic opioid up to 40 times more powerful than fentanyl, were connected to at least five overdose deaths in Philadelphia in…

Philadelphia bans supervised injection sites – evidence suggests keeping drug users on the street could do more harm than good

The United States remains tightly in the grasp of an ongoing, and escalating, crisis of deaths caused by opioid overdoses. With a record-high 109,000 people dying in 2022, it is…