News & Media

Clinician Corner January 2015 Update

A recent study by Tung et al^† raises concerns about a local increase in the incidence of infective endocarditis among people who inject drugs.

Tung et al. examined recorded cases of endocarditis from a regional hospital in Australia between 2003-2006 and 2009-2013. They found that although the overall incidence of infective endocarditis decreased in the population, the incidence of infective endocarditis related to injecting drug use increased from 0.5 to 0.8 cases per 100,000 person years.

This trend stands in contrast to overall declines in injecting drug use and related cases of infective endocarditis both in Australia and elsewhere. It may reflect a local increase in the injection of drugs or it may reflect an increase in the risk of infective endocarditis among people who inject drugs.

Factors that can increase the risk of infective endocarditis include the injection of talc and other insoluble agents that are contained in pharmaceutical preparations, vasospasm and skin lesions that can occur with stimulant use, and the use of saliva as a drug dilatant. These risk factors may have be exacerbated by a local shift away from injecting heroin to injecting other drugs, such as pharmaceutical opioids, performance enhancing drugs and methamphetamine.

This recent local trend highlights the need to be vigilant for signs of infective endocarditis among people who inject drugs, and to continue to educate people who inject drugs about ways to reduce the risks for infective endocarditis (e.g., using filters, alcohol swabs and sterile dilatants), even in the context of overall declines in injecting drug use and related cases of infective endocarditis.

To read more visit the full paper on Early View.
A complimentary PDF of the article is available to APSAD members by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

^†Tung MKY, Light M, Giri R, Lane S, Appelbe A, Harvey C, Athan E. Evolving epidemiology of injecting drug use-associated infective endocarditis: A regional centre experience. Drug and Alcohol Review 2014

Keynote Presentation now on YouTube

Keynote presentations from the 2014 APSAD Conference are now available to view on our YouTube channel!

This is a great resource if you missed the opportunity of attending the conference.

Presentations include:

Sarah Larney - Harm production and harm reduction in prisons and post release.
Glenys Dore - Involuntary Drug and Alcohol Treatment New South Wales Style.
Simon Adamson - Controlled Drinking the Science and the Art.
Judith Prochaska - Tobacco Use Treatment Updates for Behavioural Health Populations
Kathleen Brady - Stress and Addictions Neurobiologic Interface

Additional keynote presentations from the 2014 Conference will be added to our YouTube channel within the coming weeks.

Don't forgot APSAD Member's can log into the "Member's Area" on our website to view the presentation slides for concurrent sessions from previous APSAD Conferences.

Visit us on YouTube

Australian National Council on Drugs to be renamed

Australian National Council on Drugs will be renamed as the Australian National Advisory Council on Alcohol and Drugs (ANACAD) which recognises the advisory Council’s focus on alcohol as well as drugs.

“ANACAD’s key role will be to provide advice to the Government on a range of national drug and alcohol issues, including advice on emerging issues and new substances, to ensure the Government is well placed to respond.

Read the Media Release for further details

Clinician Corner - Drug and Alcohol Review Update

Text message reminders improve patient attendance according to a review of the evidence conducted by Joanna Milward and colleagues^†, now available on Drug and Alcohol Review’s Early View.

Patients who miss their appointments are at risk of poorer outcomes. Missed appointments are costly for services and can result in valuable resources being wasted.

Forgetfulness is one of the most common explanations for missed appointments. Text message appointment reminders are a cost-effective intervention that has been shown to dramatically improve attendance in health-care settings. Text message reminders are often generic but they can be personalised, for example, by including the person’s name. Reminders need to be sent within a week prior to the appointment, with most reminders being sent 1, 2 or 3 days in advance.

The effectiveness of using text message reminders has not been explored in substance use services. However, surveys suggest that the majority of clients have mobile phones and are receptive to communicating via text messages. One potential barrier to communicating via text is the frequency with which some clients change their mobile phone number.

To read more visit the full paper on Early View.
A complimentary PDF of the article is available to APSAD members by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

A reminder that APSAD members can view the Drug and Alcohol Review online, dating back to the very first issue, simply by logging into the Member's area on the APSAD Website.

^†Milward J, Lynskey M, Strang J. Solving the problem of non-attendance in substance abuse services. Drug Alcohol Rev 2014 [Epub ahead of print].

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Call for Mentors

APSAD has recently formed an Early Career Researchers (ECR) Committee, which is focused on linking ECRs with senior researchers, and providing networking opportunities. The ECR group is open to APSAD members and currently to non-members.

APSAD is looking for mid or senior-career researchers to join our informal network, and share their experiences and insights with ECRs. Mentoring can be as formal or informal as the mentor and mentee desire. Just by having a sounding board when questions arise; a friendly ear to talk about career options can be invaluable to ECRs starting out in their careers.

To find out more about APSAD and the ECR network, please visit the APSAD website and view our LinkedIn group and join the discussion

Download the form to register your interest in mentoring. Mentors will be listed on the APSAD Website with a link to their biography.

APSAD Conference inaugural ECR Breakfast

We are excited to announce that our first ECR networking event will take place this year at the APSAD Conference. To view the details for this please visit the Conference Website or Click here to register

For further information please contact the APSAD Office Ph: (02) 9252 2281 E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or contact our ECR committee representatives via email Suzanne Nielsen This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Christina Marel This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

APSAD_early_career_researcher

Drug and Alcohol Review Update

Drug and Alcohol Review a new virtual issue is available on ‘Managing methamphetamine dependence: interventions and beyond’. This virtual issue brings together papers on pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy and community-based interventions for methamphetamine use.

Click here to view on the Wiley Online Library

The National Drug and Alcohol Services Directory (NDASD)

New Website Directory

Allows users to run easy and comprehensive searches for Alcohol and Other Drug services anywhere across Australia. The project is a collaboration between the Commonwealth Department of Health, Turning Point and Monash University, and is a really useful resource for anyone looking to link in with an Alcohol or Other Drug treatment service in Australia. This includes individual service users, primary health providers, community and public service providers, GPs and other health professionals.

Visit the NDASD directory

The Australian National Preventive Health Agency (ANPHA)

The Australian National Preventive Health Agency (ANPHA) has released their final report today on the case for minimum price for alcohol.

You can download the PDF from their website

Call to join the IDHDP

Join IDHDP in calling for health based drug policies

INTERNATIONAL DOCTORS FOR HEALTHIER DRUG POLICIES

IDHDP is a global network of medical doctors supporting drug policy based on health.

HDP aims:

•Protect society and the individual from drug related death and disease

•Public health instead of criminal justice

•Improve access to essential medicines

•Expand access to evidence based treatment

Opportunity for doctors:

March 2016 will see the UN General Assembly Special Session (“UNGASS”) on the “World Drug Problem.” Before then there will be many opportunities to ensure health is high on the agenda. By joining IDHDP you will be helping a lot.

By joining IDHDP you will be adding your voice to a growing number of physicians calling for health based drug policies

Join at www.idhdp.com

Membership is free, easy and open to all medical doctors. By joining you will receive our comprehensive newsletter and updates on policies from all over the world.

Physicians globally unite for health based drug policy

APSAD YouTube Channel

2013 APSAD CONFERERENCE

Keynote presentations now available to view on APSAD's YouTube Channel!

More to come in the following weeks