Release Date
Geography
Language of Resource
Full Text Available
Open Access / OK to Reproduce
Peer Reviewed
Objective
There is limited research linking decedents’ receipt of controlled substances and presence of controlled substances on post-mortem toxicology (PMT).
Findings/Key points
Our results suggest medically supplied opioids and benzodiazepines potentially contributed to a substantial number, though minority, of opioid-detected deaths during the study period. Efforts to reduce opioid and benzodiazepine prescribing may reduce risk of opioid-detected deaths in this group, but other approaches will be needed to address most opioid-detected deaths that involved non-pharmaceutical opioids.
Design/methods
We linked data on opioid-detected deaths in Connecticut between May 3, 2016, and December 31, 2017 (n=1412) from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Department of Consumer Protection, and Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. Exposure was defined as receipt of an opioid or benzodiazepine prescription within 90 days prior to death.
