Comparative study of visits to Hospital Emergency Department for opioid overdose in two periods

Abstract

ObjectiveThe last few years have seen an increase in the use of opioid analgesics and in the incidence of opioid overdoses. The objective of this study was to evaluate the number of overdose-related visits to a university hospital emergency department at two different periods of time to analyze potential differences in terms of patient characteristics, prescription profile, and treatment. MethodThis is a retrospective observational study of opioid overdose-related visits in two periods of time: 2009-2014 and 2018-2020. ResultsThe study included 47 cases of opioid overdoses: 20 during the first period (3.3 cases/year) and 27 during the second (9 cases/year). A comparison between the two period showed a decrease in the patients’ age (81.1 vs 74.0; p = 0.044) and an increase in the number of acute trauma-derived pain treatments at the expense of chronic pain treatments (p = 0.002). No differences were observed in the opioids involved. As regards symptoms, there was a decrease in the incidence of confusional syndromes (p = 0.026) and an increase in deaths. ConclusionsEmergency room visits for opioid overdoses have increased in recent years, as has the mortality associated to them. A change has also been observed in the profile of affected patients, with a higher number of cases where pain is derived from acute trauma.