Risks of fatal opioid overdose during the first year following nonfatal overdose

The United States is confronting an unparalleled epidemic of opioid overdose deaths. Between 1999 and 2015, the number of opioid-related deaths in the US increased from 8,048 to 33,091 (Center for Disease Control (CDC), 2016). There have also been substantial increases in opioid-related hospital admissions and emergency department visits (Weiss et al., 2017). In this context, attention has focused on identifying individuals at high risk for fatal opioid overdose because they present clinical opportunities for potentially lifesaving interventions (Naeger et al., 2016; Frazier et al., 2017).

Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence - July 4, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Mark Olfson, Melanie Wall, Shuai Wang, Stephen Crystal, Carlos Blanco Tags: Full length article Source Type: research