Pennsylvania legislators and top medical experts will come together to address the growing xylazine crisis at an upcoming free symposium. The event, titled “The Next Chapter of the Opioid Epidemic in Pennsylvania: The Xylazine Crisis,” will be held on November 23, 2024, at the Bluemle Life Science Building at Jefferson Med in Philadelphia.
State Representative Rick Krajewski (D, Philadelphia), Subcommittee Chair on Health Care for the House Health Committee (Majority), and State Representative Mary Jo Daley (D, Montgomery), House Democratic Chair of the Women’s Health Caucus, will be among the key speakers at the symposium. Their participation underscores the importance of this issue at the state level and the need for collaborative efforts between policymakers and healthcare professionals.
The symposium, organized by the Rothman Orthopaedic Institute Foundation for Opioid Research & Education, will run from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm and is open to all medical professionals and students across Pennsylvania. This no-cost event offers a unique opportunity to gain critical insights into the xylazine crisis from legislative and medical perspectives.
In addition to the legislators, the symposium will feature presentations from a diverse group of medical experts. Daniel (Danny) Teixeira da Silva, MD, MSHP, Medical Director of the Division of Substance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction at the Philadelphia Health Department, will bring valuable insights from the public health sector.
The event comes at a crucial time as Pennsylvania grapples with the increasing impact of xylazine, a veterinary tranquilizer that has infiltrated the state’s illicit drug supply. Xylazine, commonly known as “tranq,” is a veterinary tranquilizer that has been found in illicit drug supplies, often mixed with fentanyl without users’ knowledge. The drug can cause dangerous decreases in breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure and is not affected by traditional overdose reversal medications. Repeated xylazine use is associated with skin wounds, including open sores and abscesses.
The symposium will cover topics such as understanding the xylazine crisis, public policy related to xylazine, and medical and surgical management of xylazine-related issues. Sessions include Bioethical Considerations of Surgical Management, Harm Reduction Strategies for Xylazine Exposure, Surgical Management Strategies (Debridement), Surgical Management Strategies (Flap), Surgical Management Strategies (Wound Care), and an Inpatient Addiction Medicine Strategy. Several sessions on public policy and Xylazine will also be held.
The event’s chairpersons are Dr. Asif Ilyas, President of the Rothman Opioid Foundation and Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Drexel University College of Medicine, and Dr. Katherine Woozely, Head of Orthopaedic Hand and Nerve Surgery and Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University.
The program will feature presentations from experts in various fields, including toxicology, addiction medicine, orthopaedic surgery, plastic surgery, and family medicine. Speakers include Rachel Haroz, MD, Head of Toxicology and Addiction Medicine and Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University; Andrew Miller, Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University; Lisa Rae, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery at Temple University School of Medicine; Mark Solarz, MD, Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University; Rick Tosti, MD, Assistant Program Director of Hand Surgery and Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University; Lara Weinstein, MD; Program Director of Addiction Medicine and Professor of Family Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University; and Jason Wink, MD, Assistant Professor of Plastic Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine; and Erum Ilyas, MD, Associate Professor and the interim academic chair of the provisional Department of Dermatology at Drexel University. Jonathan Bigley of the government relations firm Bigley & Blikle will lead a panel discussion Q&A.
Interested participants can register for the symposium at https://www.rothmanopioid.org/. While the symposium will not grant CME credit, it offers a valuable opportunity for medical professionals and students to gain insights into the emerging xylazine crisis and its impact on public health in Pennsylvania.
About the Rothman Institute Foundation for Opioid Research and Education.
The Rothman Orthopaedic Foundation, for short, is a non-profit 501c3 organization dedicated to raising awareness of the ongoing opioid crisis, educating physicians and patients on safe opioid prescribing and use – respectively, and advising policymakers on sound opioid and pain management policy. Most importantly, the Rothman Opioid Foundation performs and supports the highest quality research on opioids and alternative pain modalities to yield findings that can better inform patients, physicians, and the greater healthcare community in the most evidenced-based pain management strategies while working to mitigate opioid abuse and addiction. https://www.rothmanopioid.org/
