Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Oct 1;36(10):1748-1753.
doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2017.0260.

Opioid Abuse And Poisoning: Trends In Inpatient And Emergency Department Discharges

Dario Tedesco  1 , Steven M Asch  2 , Catherine Curtin  3 , Jennifer Hah  4 , Kathryn M McDonald  5 , Maria P Fantini  6 , Tina Hernandez-Boussard  7
Affiliations

Opioid Abuse And Poisoning: Trends In Inpatient And Emergency Department Discharges

Dario Tedesco et al. Health Aff (Millwood). .

Abstract

Addressing the opioid epidemic is a national priority. We analyzed national trends in inpatient and emergency department (ED) discharges for opioid abuse, dependence, and poisoning using Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project data. Inpatient and ED discharge rates increased overall across the study period, but a decline was observed for prescription opioid-related discharges beginning in 2010, while a sharp increase in heroin-related discharges began in 2008.

Keywords: Opioid epidemic; Pharmaceuticals.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

EXHIBIT 1
EXHIBIT 1. Population-based inpatient (1997–2014) and emergency department (ED) (2006–14) discharges for prescription opioid and heroin poisoning in the United States, by diagnostic group
SOURCE Authors’ analysis of data for 1997–2014 from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. NOTES Discharge rates were calculated per 1 00,000 population. Annual percentage changes (APCs) over time for the different diagnostic groups were estimated using a full-forward Joinpoint regression. Inpatient prescription opioid APCs showed a significant increase (p < 0.001) between 1997 and 2010 and a significant decrease (p < 0.05) between 2010 and 2014. ED prescription opioid APCs showed a significant increase (p < 0.05) between 2006 and 2010 and a significant decrease (p < 0.05) between 2010 and 2014. Inpatient heroin APCs showed a significant increase (p < 0.001) between 2008 and 2014. ED heroin APCs showed a significant increase (p < 0.001) between 2009 and 2014.
EXHIBIT 3
EXHIBIT 3. Population-based inpatient (1997–2014) and emergency department (ED) (2006–14) discharges for opioid dependence, abuse, and poisonings in the United States
SOURCE Authors’ analysis of data for 1997–2014 from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. NOTE Although the exhibit shows discharges per 100,000 people, annual percentage changes (APCs) over time for the different diagnostic groups were estimated using a full-forward Joinpoint regression. Inpatient both, ED both, inpatient dependence only, and inpatient abuse only APCs showed a significant increase (p < 0.001) over the study period. ED dependence APCs showed a significant increase (p < 0.001) between 2006 and 2012. ED abuse APCs showed a significant increase (p < 0.001) between 2008 and 2014.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bosman J Inside a killer drug epidemic: a look at America’s opioid crisis. New York Times. 2017. January 6.
    1. Williams AR, Bisaga A. From AIDS to opioids—how to combat an epidemic. N Engl J Med. 2016;375(9):813–5. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Murthy VH. Ending the opioid epidemic—a call to action. N Engl J Med. 2016;375(25):2413–5. - PubMed
    1. Cicero TJ, Ellis MS, Surratt HL, Kurtz SP. The changing face of heroin use in the United States: a retrospective analysis of the past 50 years. JAMA Psychiatry. 2014;71(7): 821–6. - PubMed
    1. Phillips DM. JCAHO pain management standards are unveiled. Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. JAMA. 2000;284(4):428–9. - PubMed

Publication types

Substances

LinkOut - more resources