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Emergency department (ED) patients with substance abuse or nonfatal overdoses are at high risk for subsequent fatal overdose. To identify additional risk factors within this group, researchers linked a database of ED visits in Maryland during 2014 to 2015 with records of all opioid overdose deaths in the state, as determined by the medical examiner, in 2015 to 2016.
Of approximately 1.3 million ED visits among patients aged 18 years and older, 139,252 were related to substance abuse (excluding tobacco) or overdose. Among 1452 ED patients who subsequently died of an opioid overdose, 963 had been seen for substance abuse or overdose. Patients with substance-related visits had a 0.69% likelihood of subsequent death from an opioid overdose, whic…