Blog

"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." - Nelson Mandela

Difficult observations

It is never easy to observe someone hit “rock bottom”, especially when it is more of a routine than a one-time fall. Yet - so many of us have experienced those we love repeatedly falling into the familiar pattern of addiction. There are many forms of substance abuse. Some are more socially accepted, like alcohol consumption and tobacco use. Others like opioids, and other narcotic substances, are more taboo.

Whatever the flavor, substance abuse rarely appears in one day. There are patterns when abuse is forming and common clues once the addiction is established. The current pandemic has pushed many into a state of ill-health and substance abuse. Many nations are experiencing booming alcohol sales. And according to a recently published article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA),since March 2020 US hospitals are reporting an increase in substances found in urine samples nationwide: 67% fentanyl, 23 % methamphetamines, and 19% in cocaine.

Early identification is key. More so than we ever realized. For example, as a physician, I was taught that opioids are safe for short-term use. But the meaning of the term ‘short-term’ is shrinking drastically – some studies show that dependency starts within just a handful of days. As a former research scientist, I have reviewed thousands of patient charts - and the majority of opioids I have seen prescribed are for a minimum of five to seven days.

Finding the missing pieces of the puzzle

I think one of the most-used phrases of 2020 is “these are unprecedented times.”

I did hear another phrase recently that I liked: it is a “dark privilege” to be living through this global pandemic. No doubt, we live in an interesting time! In decades to come, people will talk about 2020 and the impact of coronavirus on so many global factors – economy, climate, travel, and of course population and individual health. As well as the dark clouds, there is of course light – and much light comes from the collaborative efforts of institutions, healthcare organizations and governments to find the best responses to this challenge, particularly in the areas of drug repurposing and vaccine development.

And this, to me, is where natural language processing-based text mining comes in. Whenever scientists, researchers and clinicians are faced with a challenge, one critical asset is identifying as much information about the problem as possible. Whatever information there is, locally and globally, that can be found, gathered and understood, will enable the right decisions to be taken. Relevant information on the biology of SARS-CoV2, from COVID-19 as a disease, patient demographics and co-morbidities, global or regional spread, and possible drugs that might treat the symptoms and impacts of this disease is all just the tip of a data iceberg. Much of this data exists in unstructured text: scientific papers, preprints, clinical trial records, adverse event reports, electronic healthcare records, even news feeds and social media can all provide information on epidemiological factors, for example.