Fighting the Opioid Epidemic

Fighting the Opioid Epidemic: The Role of Providers and the Clinical Laboratory in Understanding Who Is Vulnerable covers the important aspects that are essential in fighting the opioid epidemic. This succinct reference highlights how the toxicology laboratory can play a vital role in fighting the opioid epidemic by implementing a robust system for drugs of abuse testing as well as drug testing in pain management patients. It targets health care professionals in a technical manner, discussing polymorphisms of important genes that may be associated with increased vulnerability of alcohol and drug addiction to an individual. - Covers all important aspects of opioid abuse, including genetic and environmental factors - Discusses pharmacology, toxicology and the pharmacogenomics related to opioid metabolism - Presents genetic and environmental factors associated with those vulnerable to opioid addiction, as well as the pitfalls of drug testing in pain management

Amitava Dasgupta received his Ph. D in chemistry from Stanford University and completed his fellowship training in Clinical Chemistry from the Department of Laboratory Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine at Seattle. He is board certified in both Toxicology and Clinical Chemistry by the American Board of Clinical Chemistry. Currently, he is a tenured Full Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center and Director of Clinical Laboratories at the University of Kansas Hospital. Prior to this appointment he was a tenured Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Texas McGovern medical School from February 1998 to April 2022. He has 252 papers to his credit. He is in the editorial board of four journals including Therapeutic Drug Monitoring, Clinica Chimica Acta, Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and Journal of Clinical Laboratory Analysis.