Demographic, geographic, and temporal patterns of ambulance runs for suspected opiate overdose in Rhode Island, 1997-20021
Authors
Merchant, Roland C.Schwartzapfel, Beth L.
Wolf, Francis A.
Li, Wenjun
Carlson, Lynn
Rich, Josiah D.
UMass Chan Affiliations
Department of Medicine, Division of Preventive and Behavioral MedicineDocument Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2006-07-25Keywords
AdolescentAdult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Ambulances
Child
Child, Preschool
Continental Population Groups
Databases, Factual
Demography
Drug Overdose
Female
Geography
Humans
Infant
Male
Middle Aged
Naloxone
Opioid-Related Disorders
Rhode Island
Behavioral Disciplines and Activities
Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms
Clinical Epidemiology
Community Health and Preventive Medicine
Epidemiology
Preventive Medicine
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
We examine ambulance runs for suspected opiate overdose from 1997 to 2002 using a Rhode Island Department of Health database. Of the 8,763 ambulance runs for overdoses, 18.6% were for suspected opiate overdoses. Most cases were males under age 54. Suspected opiate overdoses were more likely to occur in a private residence, were more frequent on Fridays and Saturdays, and peaked in incidence around 9:00 p.m. The incidence rate of suspected opiate overdose by year was similar. The study results may help identify areas for preventive intervention and demonstrate the limitation of using naloxone as a marker of opiate overdose events.Source
Merchant RC, Schwartzapfel BL, Wolf FA, Li W, Carlson L, Rich JD. Demographic, geographic, and temporal patterns of ambulance runs for suspected opiate overdose in Rhode Island, 1997-20021. Subst Use Misuse. 2006;41(9):1209-26. Link to article on publisher's siteDOI
10.1080/10826080600751898Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/44876PubMed ID
16861173Related Resources
Link to Article in PubMedae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1080/10826080600751898