Deadly opioid overdose in Cook County surged with the first COVID home order

A new study of northwestern medicine revealed a surge in the number of fatal opioid overdose in Cook County during the first 11 weeks of COVID-19 home orders in Illinois last spring. ..

“People may be at home and using it alone, which limits the chances of a bystander calling 911 or giving naloxone to undo an overdose.” The author states. Marian Mason, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Northwestern University School of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine. “The drug market associated with COVID is so turbulent that if people can’t get a regular supply from a regular supplier, they have to go to new people and ingest new substances that are probably too powerful for them. I can’t. “

This study will be published in the journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on March 12.

Average weekly deaths during stay-at-home order increased by 23.7%

The state of Illinois enacted a stay-at-home order on March 21, 2020 with the aim of curbing the spread of the virus, and lifted it on May 30, 2020.

• In the 16 weeks leading up to the stay-at-home period (starting in late 2019), the average number of fatal opioid overdose weekly increased from 22.6 to 35.06.
• During the 11-week stay-at-home order, the average number of deaths from weekly overdose increased from 35.06 to 43.4.
• Eighteen weeks after the stay-at-home order was lifted, the average weekly death toll plummeted to 31.2.

Studies show that opioid overdose deaths in Cook County generally continue to increase from late 2019, despite a sharp decline in fatal opioid overdose after the stay-at-home order was lifted. I understood.

“This is a concern because it may indicate an overall sustained upward trend in deaths from overdose,” Mason said.

New insights into opioid user risk during a pandemic

The findings help us better understand how vulnerable people can be affected by a health crisis such as a pandemic, Mason said.

“Few people are unaffected by the opioid crisis,” Mason said. “This perception helps us understand the relatively large risk of pandemics in people who use opioids, and goes beyond the need to help people with opioid misuse during these times and the deaths from COVID. Call attention to the “incidental” damage of the pandemic. “

Although it is difficult to determine the exact reason for the increase in deaths, the authors of the study said several factors may be involved.

• During the pandemic, treatment, recovery services, and social support for opioid addicts were interrupted.
• The pandemic has resulted in disruptions and changes in drug supply. This can lead to loss of drug resistance and the replacement of less potent drugs that are not available during the blockade with stronger, illegally manufactured opioids such as fentanyl.
• During the stay-at-home order, people may have used opioids alone at home. Naloxone is a drug that can undo the effects of opioid overdose if given in time.

Improving the safety of drug supply

Using national data, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported an increase in the rate of deaths, including those that were illegal. Fentanyl, A synthetic drug that resembles heroin but gives the user a 10 times stronger euphoric feeling.

“The demand for fentanyl is increasing because people who like the height that fentanyl gives are looking for it,” says Mason. “It’s what you can develop tolerance.”

But for those who have never used fentanyl before, even a very small amount, the same amount as a grain of sand, can kill fentanyl if unknowingly mixed with another drug, Mason said.

“How do you discuss safe drug use with people in the very dangerous drug market?” Mason said. “Where are we going from here in the last 20 years of crisis?”

In Illinois Current opioid crisis response grants are in placeAccording to Mason, it will help fund opioid users to provide more overdose prevention strategies.Also like a group Chicago Recovery Alliance (CRA) is a non-profit organization that provides syringe replacement and overdose prevention services to Chicago citizens, providing real-time drug testing using spectrometers and fentanyl test strips. These help identify if heroin, pills, methamphetamines, cocaine, MDMA, or other drugs are mixed with fentanyl. In combination with drug use management counseling, drug testing can prevent overdose.

“We all know people with this problem that we never imagined,” Mason said. “To some extent, we must do what we can to improve the safety of our drug supply.”

Research mechanism

The study analyzed data from Cook County’s medical inspector’s office to examine overdose before, during, and after a stay-at-home order in Cook County. We calculated the number of weekly deaths for the week from January 1, 2018 to October 6, 2020. During that time, a total of 3,843 opioid overdose deaths occurred in Cook County, with weekly deaths ranging from 12 to 52.

Other northwestern co-authors include Joseph Feinglass, Lori Ann Post, Sarah Welch, and Dr. Includes PonniArunkumar.