Author: Don Stader, MD

Educational Pearls:

• 10% of patients seen in the emergency department for opioid overdose patients will die within a year
• Half of these overdoses will occur in the next month
• This mortality rate is higher than patients with STEMI, of which 7% will die within one year
• Take-home naloxone, as well as medication assisted treatment like buprenorphine can save lives

References

Olfson M, Crystal S, Wall M, Wang S, Liu SM, Blanco C. Causes of Death After Nonfatal Opioid Overdose. JAMA Psychiatry. 2018 Aug 1;75(8):820-827. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2018.1471. PubMed PMID: 29926090; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6143082.

Olfson M, Wall M, Wang S, Crystal S, Blanco C. Risks of fatal opioid overdose during the first year following nonfatal overdose.Drug Alcohol Depend. 2018 Sep 1;190:112-119. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2018.06.004. Epub 2018 Jul 4. PubMed PMID: 30005310.

Summarized by Will Dewispelaere, MS3 | Edited by Erik Verzemnieks, MD