Characterization and Management of Patients with Heroin versus Nonheroin Opioid Overdoses: Experience at an Academic Medical Center

Health harms of non-medical prescription opioid use: A systematic review

ISSUES

Non-medical prescription opioid use (NMPOU) contributes substantially to the global burden of morbidity. However, no systematic assessment of the scientific literature on the associations between NMPOU and health outcomes has yet been undertaken.

APPROACH

We undertook a systematic review evaluating health outcomes related to NMPOU based on ICD-10 clinical domains. We searched 13 electronic databases for original research articles until 1 July 2021. We employed an adaptation of the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine 'Levels of Evidence' scale to assess study quality.

KEY FINDINGS

Overall, 182 studies were included. The evidence base was largest on the association between NMPOU and mental and behavioural disorders; 71% (129) studies reported on these outcomes. Less evidence exists on the association of NMPOU with infectious disease outcomes (26; 14%), and on external causes of morbidity and mortality, with 13 (7%) studies assessing its association with intentional self-harm and 1 study assessing its association with assault (<1%).

IMPLICATIONS

A large body of evidence has identified associations between NMPOU and opioid use disorder as well as on fatal and non-fatal overdose. We found equivocal evidence on the association between NMPOU and the acquisition of HIV, hepatitis C and other infectious diseases. We identified weak evidence regarding the potential association between NMPOU and intentional self-harm, suicidal ideation and assault.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Findings may inform the prevention of harms associated with NMPOU, although higher-quality research is needed to characterise the association between NMPOU and the full spectrum of physical and mental health disorders.

Emergency department strategies to combat the opioid crisis in children and adolescents

The opioid crisis has greatly affected not only adults but also children as well. As clinicians develop effective approaches to minimize pain and distress in children, the risks and benefits of opioids must be carefully considered. Children of parents with opioid use disorder are also at risk of living in unstable environments, performing poorly academically, engaging in future drug use, and having increased stress, which affects their development before entering adulthood. This statement focuses on the effects of the opioid crisis on children and adolescents and is intended to inform institutional policies, improve education, advocate for evidence-informed guidelines, and improve the care of children affected by the opioid epidemic who are seen in the emergency department.

Opioid-related incident severity and emergency medical service naloxone administration by sex in Massachusetts, 2013-2019

BACKGROUND

A Cross-sectional study of all emergency ambulance runs reported by licensed Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers between 2013 and 2019 was undertaken to determine if the sex of a patient experiencing opioid-related symptoms had an impact on their odds of receiving naloxone from EMS. Methods: All runs within Massachusetts for individuals 11 years and older with a reported sex between 2013 and 2019 (n = 5,533,704 runs) were included. Covariates modeled were patient age, year of the incident, and county of the incident. Runs were separated into those that were opioid-related versus not; opioid-related runs were further subdivided into five severity categories including dead on arrival, acute opioid overdose, opioid intoxicated, opioid withdrawal, and other opioid-related incident. Results: Among opioid-related runs, women had 24% lower odds (95% CI 0.68-0.86) of appearing in the dead on arrival category and 20% lower odds (95% CI 0.78-0.82) of appearing in the acute opioid overdose category than men. Among acute opioid overdoses, runs where patient symptoms met Massachusetts EMS guidelines for naloxone administration, women had 18% lower odds (95% CI 0.76-0.89) of receiving naloxone than men. Conclusions: Sex-related differences persist in the odds of naloxone administration by EMS providers when controlling for symptom presentation.

Opioid-Associated Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: Distinctive Clinical Features and Implications for Health Care and Public Responses: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association

Opioid overdose is the leading cause of death for Americans 25 to 64 years of age, and opioid use disorder affects >2 million Americans. The epidemiology of opioid-associated out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the United States is changing rapidly, with exponential increases in death resulting from synthetic opioids and linear increases in heroin deaths more than offsetting modest reductions in deaths from prescription opioids. The pathophysiology of polysubstance toxidromes involving opioids, asphyxial death, and prolonged hypoxemia leading to global ischemia (cardiac arrest) differs from that of sudden cardiac arrest. People who use opioids may also develop bacteremia, central nervous system vasculitis and leukoencephalopathy, torsades de pointes, pulmonary vasculopathy, and pulmonary edema. Emergency management of opioid poisoning requires recognition by the lay public or emergency dispatchers, prompt emergency response, and effective ventilation coupled to compressions in the setting of opioid-associated out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Effective ventilation is challenging to teach, whereas naloxone, an opioid antagonist, can be administered by emergency medical personnel, trained laypeople, and the general public with dispatcher instruction to prevent cardiac arrest. Opioid education and naloxone distributions programs have been developed to teach people who are likely to encounter a person with opioid poisoning how to administer naloxone, deliver high-quality compressions, and perform rescue breathing. Current American Heart Association recommendations call for laypeople and others who cannot reliably establish the presence of a pulse to initiate cardiopulmonary resuscitation in any individual who is unconscious and not breathing normally; if opioid overdose is suspected, naloxone should also be administered. Secondary prevention, including counseling, opioid overdose education with take-home naloxone, and medication for opioid use disorder, is important to prevent recurrent opioid overdose.

Risk and protective factors for repeated overdose after opioid overdose survival

BACKGROUND

Nonfatal opioid overdose (OD) is an opportunity to identify patients who may benefit from interventions to reduce repeated overdose (rOD). In this study, we sought to determine risk and protective factors associated with rOD.

METHODS

In this retrospective cohort study of 4,155 patients aged 18-64 who presented to one of 16 emergency departments in a single Western Pennsylvania health system between July 2015 and January 2018 for index opioid overdose (iOD) and survived to discharge, we identified demographic and clinical factors association with rOD within one-year. Relative risk of repeated opioid overdose was estimated using adjusted Cox proportional hazard ratios (aHRs).

RESULTS

14.9 % of patients (95 % CI 13.9-16.1) had a rOD, with 29 % occurring within 30 days from iOD. The adjusted hazard of opioid overdose was increased for male patients (aHR = 1.19; 95 % CI 1.01, 1.41), those with pre-iOD diagnoses of anxiety (aHR = 1.41; 95 % CI1.13, 1.77), depression (aHR = 1.44; 95 % CI 1.17, 1.78), substance use disorders (aHR = 1.30; 95 % CI 1.09, 1.55), and alcohol use disorder (aHR = 1.52; 95 % CI 1.02, 2.25). The hazard was lower for individuals prescribed an opioid in the 90 days prior to iOD (aHR = 0.59; 95 % CI 0.37, 0.97) and those admitted to the hospital for iOD (aHR = 0.56; 95 % CI 0.37, 0.86).

CONCLUSION

We found that, among ED patients who survive an initial OD, mental health and substance use diagnoses are associated with a higher hazard of repeated overdoses whereas opioids prescriptions and admission are associated with lower hazards.

Receipt of Addiction Treatment After Opioid Overdose Among Medicaid-Enrolled Adolescents and Young Adults

Importance

Nonfatal opioid overdose may be a critical touch point when youths who have never received a diagnosis of opioid use disorder can be engaged in treatment. However, the extent to which youths (adolescents and young adults) receive timely evidence-based treatment following opioid overdose is unknown.

Objective

To identify characteristics of youths who experience nonfatal overdose with heroin or other opioids and to assess the percentage of youths receiving timely evidence-based treatment.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This retrospective cohort study used the 2009-2015 Truven-IBM Watson Health MarketScan Medicaid claims database from 16 deidentified states representing all US census regions. Data from 4 039 216 Medicaid-enrolled youths aged 13 to 22 years were included and were analyzed from April 20, 2018, to March 21, 2019.

Exposures

Nonfatal incident and recurrent opioid overdoses involving heroin or other opioids.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Receipt of timely addiction treatment (defined as a claim for behavioral health services, for buprenorphine, methadone, or naltrexone prescription or administration, or for both behavioral health services and pharmacotherapy within 30 days of incident overdose). Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics associated with receipt of timely treatment as well as with incident and recurrent overdoses were also identified.

Results

Among 3791 youths with nonfatal opioid overdose, 2234 (58.9%) were female, and 2491 (65.7%) were non-Hispanic white. The median age was 18 years (interquartile range, 16-20 years). The crude incident opioid overdose rate was 44.1 per 100 000 person-years. Of these 3791 youths, 1001 (26.4%) experienced a heroin overdose; the 2790 (73.6%) remaining youths experienced an overdose involving other opioids. The risk of recurrent overdose among youths with incident heroin involvement was significantly higher than that among youths with other opioid overdose (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.62; 95% CI, 2.14-3.22), and youths with incident heroin overdose experienced recurrent overdose at a crude rate of 20 700 per 100 000 person-years. Of 3606 youths with opioid-related overdose and continuous enrollment for at least 30 days after overdose, 2483 (68.9%) received no addiction treatment within 30 days after incident opioid overdose, whereas only 1056 youths (29.3%) received behavioral health services alone, and 67 youths (1.9%) received pharmacotherapy. Youths with heroin overdose were significantly less likely than youths with other opioid overdose to receive any treatment after their overdose (adjusted odds ratio, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.49-0.83).

Conclusions and Relevance

After opioid overdose, less than one-third of youths received timely addiction treatment, and only 1 in 54 youths received recommended evidence-based pharmacotherapy. Interventions are urgently needed to link youths to treatment after overdose, with priority placed on improving access to pharmacotherapy.

Prescribing patterns before and after a non-fatal drug overdose using Tennessee's controlled substance monitoring database linked to hospital discharge data

We performed a statewide evaluation of prescribing patterns of controlled substances (CS) before and after an overdose, using Tennessee's Hospital Discharge Data System and the Controlled Substance Monitoring Database (CSMD). Adults' first non-fatal overdose discharges either from the emergency department (ED) or inpatient (IP) stay occurring between 2013 and 2016 were linked to prescriptions in the CSMD. The difference in the proportion of patients filling a prescription before versus after an overdose was calculated. Included were 49,398 patients with an overdose and a prescription record; most (60.5%) were treated in the ED. Among any drug type overdose the percentage of patients who filled a CS prescription within a year of experiencing an overdose was as follows: opioid analgesics: 59.1%, benzodiazepines: 37.3%, stimulants: 5.0%, muscle relaxants: 3.4%, concurrent opioid-benzodiazepines: 24.0% with the percent difference from before to after similar in both settings. Among patients treated for an opioid overdose, this represented a decrease in opioid analgesics filled by 9.7% (95%CI: -11.2, -8.3) among those treated in the ED, and by 7.1% (95% CI: -8.3, -5.9) among treated inpatients. Among patients treated for a heroin overdose, 12.2% (95%CI: -15.2, -9.3) fewer of those treated in the ED and 8.8% (95%CI: -15.0, -2.7%) fewer of treated inpatients filled a CS prescription in that year. The most common opioid analgesics included hydrocodone and oxycodone. The number of patients filling buprenorphine for treatment increased in the year after overdoses associated with any drug or opioids but decreased among those treated for a heroin overdose.

Suicidal motivations reported by opioid overdose survivors: A cross-sectional study of adults with opioid use disorder

BACKGROUND

Prior studies in heroin use disorder reported low rates (10%) of suicidal intention with non-fatal opioid overdose but did not assess dimensional ratings of suicidal ideation. This study aims to quantify the frequency and intensity of ratings of desire to die and perceived overdose risk proximal to the most recent opioid overdose event among individuals admitted for opioid use disorder detoxification/stabilization.

METHODS

Cross-sectional study (June 2017-July 2018) assessing patterns of opioid use and variables related to overdose history was conducted in a not-for-profit psychiatric hospital. Adults (>18 years) with opioid use disorder were eligible and 120 of 122 participants completed all measures. Forty-one percent were women and 85% self-identified as white. Participants' perceptions of the likelihood of overdose and their suicidal motivations (defined as desire to die) prior to most recent opioid overdose was self-rated on a scale of 0 (no desire to die/no risk of death) to 10 (I definitely wanted to die/I definitely thought I would die).

RESULTS

Most (92%) surviving opioid overdose used heroin/fentanyl; over half reported some desire to die prior to their most recent overdose, with 36% reporting strong (>7/10) desire to die and 21% reporting 10/10 "I definitely wanted to die." Perceptions of overdose risk were also variable, with 30% reporting no (0/10) likelihood of overdose and 13% reporting a high (10/10) likelihood.

CONCLUSIONS

Suicidal motivation prior to opioid overdose is common and falls along a continuum of severity. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine if suicide prevention interventions may reduce opioid overdose in those at risk.

U.S. National 90-Day Readmissions After Opioid Overdose Discharge

INTRODUCTION

U.S. hospital discharges for opioid overdose increased substantially during the past two decades. This brief report describes 90-day readmissions among patients discharged from inpatient stays for opioid overdose.

METHODS

In 2018, survey-weighted analysis of hospital stays in the 2016 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project National Readmissions Database yielded the national estimated proportion of patients with opioid overdose stays that had all-cause readmissions within ≤90 days. A multivariable logistic regression model assessed index stay factors associated with readmission by type (opioid overdose or not). Number of readmissions per patient was assessed.

RESULTS

More than 24% (n=14,351/58,850) of patients with non-fatal index stays for opioid overdose had at least one all-cause readmission ≤90 days of index stay discharge and 3% (n=1,658/58,850) of patients had at least one opioid overdose readmission. Less than 0.2% (n=104/58,850) of patients had more than one readmission for opioid overdose. Patient demographic characteristics (e.g., male, older age), comorbidities diagnosed during the index stay (e.g., drug use disorder, chronic pulmonary disease, psychoses), and other index stay factors (Medicare or Medicaid primary payer, discharge against medical advice) were significantly associated with both opioid overdose and non-opioid overdose readmissions. Nearly 30% of index stays for opioid overdose included heroin, which was significantly associated with opioid overdose readmissions.

CONCLUSIONS

A quarter of opioid overdose patients have ≤90 days all-cause readmissions, although opioid overdose readmission is uncommon. Effective strategies to reduce readmissions will address substance use disorder as well as comorbid physical and mental health conditions.

The Heroin Epidemic in America: A Surgeon's Perspective

Background: The United States is currently experiencing a heroin epidemic. Recent reports have demonstrated a three-fold increase in heroin use among Americans since 2007 with a shift in demographics to more women and white Americans. Furthermore, there has been a correlation between the recent opioid epidemic and an increase in heroin abuse. Much has been written about epidemiology and prevention of heroin abuse, but little has been dedicated to the surgical implications, complications, and resource utilization. Discussion: This article focuses on the surgical problems encountered from heroin abuse and how to manage them in a constant effort to improve morbidity and mortality for these heroin abusers.

Utilizing Buprenorphine in the Emergency Department after Overdose

The United States is currently in the midst of an opioid epidemic. Barriers to treatment in the emergency department can lead to missed opportunities for helping prevent overdose and relapse in individuals with opioid use disorder. The administration of buprenorphine in the emergency department can potentially lead to better treatment outcomes for these individuals.

Morphine-Mediated Brain Region-Specific Astrocytosis Involves the ER Stress-Autophagy Axis

A recent study from our lab has revealed a link between morphine-mediated autophagy and synaptic impairment. The current study was aimed at investigating whether morphine-mediated activation of astrocytes involved the ER stress/autophagy axis. Our in vitro findings demonstrated upregulation of GFAP indicating astrocyte activation with a concomitant increase in the production of proinflammatory cytokines in morphine-exposed human astrocytes. Using both pharmacological and gene-silencing approaches, it was demonstrated that morphine-mediated defective autophagy involved upstream activation of ER stress with subsequent downstream astrocyte activation via the μ-opioid receptor (MOR). In vivo validation demonstrated preferential activation of ER stress/autophagy axis in the areas of the brain not associated with pain such as the basal ganglia, frontal cortex, occipital cortex, and the cerebellum of morphine-dependent rhesus macaques, and this correlated with increased astrocyte activation and neuroinflammation. Interventions aimed at blocking either the MOR or ER stress could thus likely be developed as promising therapeutic targets for abrogating morphine-mediated astrocytosis.

The Effects of Kentucky's Comprehensive Opioid Legislation on Patients Presenting with Prescription Opioid or Heroin Abuse to One Urban Emergency Department

BACKGROUND

Prescription opioid abuse has increased to epidemic proportions in the United States. Kentucky, along with other states, passed comprehensive legislation to monitor and curb opioid prescribing.

OBJECTIVES

This paper characterizes patients who presented to the emergency department (ED) after abusing prescription opioids and heroin prior to and after the passage of House Bill 1 (HB1) in April 2012.

METHODS

Based on a retrospective review of ED visits from 2009-2014 in one urban adult facility, patients were included if the chief complaint or diagnosis was directly related to prescription opioid or heroin abuse. The primary outcome is the number and type of substance abused by each ED patient.

RESULTS

From 2009-2014, 2945 patients presented to the ED after prescription opioid or heroin abuse. The number of prescription opioid patients decreased from 215 (of 276 patients) in 2009 to 203 (of 697 patients) in 2014; 77.9% of patients abused opioids in 2009, vs. 29% in 2014 (a 63% decrease). The number of heroin patients increased from 61 in 2009 to 494 in 2014; 22% of patients in 2009 abused heroin, vs. 71% in 2014 (a 221% increase). Both piecewise regression and autoregressive integrated moving average trend models showed an increased trend in patient heroin abuse beginning in 2011-2012.

CONCLUSIONS

Our facility experienced a decrease in the number of patients who abused prescription opioids and an increase in the number of patients who abused heroin over the study period. The transition seemed to occur just prior to, or concurrent with, enforcement of statewide opioid legislation.