title: Evaluation of Monitoring Schemes for Wastewater-Based Epidemiology to Identify Drug Use Trends Using Cocaine, Methamphetamine, MDMA and Methadone.
abstract: Wastewater-based epidemiology is increasingly being used as a tool to monitor drug use trends. To minimize costs, studies have typically monitored a small number of days. However, cycles of drug use may display weekly and seasonal trends that affect the accuracy of monthly or annual drug use estimates based on a limited number of samples. This study aimed to rationalize sampling methods for minimizing the number of samples required while maximizing information about temporal trends. A range of sampling strategies were examined: (i) targeted days (e.g., weekends), (ii) completely random or stratified random sampling, and (iii) a number of sampling strategies informed by known weekly cycles in drug use data. Using a time-series approach, analysis was performed for four drugs (MDMA, methamphetamine, cocaine, methadone) collected through a continuous sampling program over 14 months. Results showed, for drugs with weekly cycles (MDMA, methamphetamine and cocaine in this sample), sampling strategies which made use of those weekly cycles required fewer samples to obtain similar information as sampling 5 days per week and had better accuracy than stratified random sampling techniques.
authors.affiliation: University of Tasmania , Sandy Bay, Tasmania 7005, Australia.
authors.forename: Melissa A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Humphries
authors.affiliation: University of Tasmania , Sandy Bay, Tasmania 7005, Australia.
authors.forename: Raimondo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bruno
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland , The National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology (Entox), Coopers Plains, Queensland 4108, Australia.
authors.forename: Foon Yin
authors.initials: FY
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland , The National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology (Entox), Coopers Plains, Queensland 4108, Australia.|Queensland University of Technology , Brisbane, Queensland 4001, Australia.
authors.forename: Phong K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Thai
authors.affiliation: University of Tasmania , Sandy Bay, Tasmania 7005, Australia.
authors.forename: Barbara R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Holland
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland , The National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology (Entox), Coopers Plains, Queensland 4108, Australia.
authors.forename: Jake W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.affiliation: Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology , CH 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.|The University of Queensland , Advanced Water Management Centre (AWMC), St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ort
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland , The National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology (Entox), Coopers Plains, Queensland 4108, Australia.
authors.forename: Jochen F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Mueller
mesh_terms: D003042:Cocaine; D008691:Methadone; D008694:Methamphetamine; D018817:N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection; D062065:Wastewater
chemical_list: D003042:Cocaine; D008691:Methadone; D008694:Methamphetamine; D018817:N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine; D062065:Wastewater