Opioid Overdose-Related Mortality Has Increased Significantly Over 7 Years

A recent study has revealed that opioid overdose-related mortality has increased significantly over the last 7 years.

Although rates of opioid abuse are increasing, its impact on critical care resources is not known.

For their study, the researchers analyzed data from adult admissions to 162 hospitals in 44 states with discharges between January 1, 2009 and September 31, 2015. The primary outcome was opioid-related overdose admissions to the intensive care unit (ICU). Secondary outcomes were in-hospital death and markers of ICU resources.

Among 22,783,628 admissions, 4,145,068 required ICU care (52.4 ICU admissions for overdose per 10,000 ICU admissions over the entire study). During the study period, opioid overdose admissions requiring ICU care increased 34% (from 44 per 10,000 to 59 per 10,000 ICU admissions).

The mortality rate of patients with ICU admissions averaged 7% and increased to 10% in 2015.

“Our findings raise the need for a national approach to developing safe strategies to care for patients with overdose in the ICU, to providing coordinated resources in the hospital for patients and families, and to helping survivors maintain sobriety on discharge.”

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Stevens JP, Wall MJ, Novack L, et al. The critical care crisis of opioid overdoses in the United States [published online August 11, 2017]. Ann. Am. Thorac. Soc. doi:https://doi.org/10.1513/AnnalsATS.201701-022OC.