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Observational Study
. 2021 May 1;78(5):562-564.
doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.4218.

Overdose-Related Cardiac Arrests Observed by Emergency Medical Services During the US COVID-19 Epidemic

Affiliations
Observational Study

Overdose-Related Cardiac Arrests Observed by Emergency Medical Services During the US COVID-19 Epidemic

Joseph Friedman et al. JAMA Psychiatry. .

Abstract

This cohort study characterizes emergent trends in overdose-related cardiac arrests in the US during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic using a large, national emergency medical services database.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None reported.

Figures

Figure.
Figure.. Changes in Emergency Medical Services (EMS)–Observed Overdose Incidents, Cardiac Arrests, and Mobility During the US Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Epidemic
A, Overdose-related cardiac arrests per 100 000 EMS calls for 2018 through August 2020. The average of 2018 and 2019 values is treated as a baseline trend and is shown as a dotted black line. B, Excess in overdose-related cardiac arrests (elevation in 2020 over baseline values) as well as the excess in all overdose-related EMS calls alongside changes in mobility (a measure of social distancing, obtained from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation). The vertical dashed line marks the week of March 16, 2020, the first week in which mobility markedly decreased nationally in the US.

References

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