Citation

Gill JR, De Joseph M. Conn. Med. 2019; 83(5): 203-209.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Connecticut State Medical Society)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

More than 2000 people in Connecticut died from drug intoxications in 2017 and 2018. More people died from accidental drug intoxications than the combined total of all homicides, suicides, and motor vehicle collision fatalities. The number of accidental drug intoxication deaths in Connecticut has nearly tripled in the past several years, resulting in a 79% increase in the number of autopsies performed by Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The opioid crisis has driven this increase and has taken a toll on medicolegal death investigation systems in Connecticut and around the country. Illicit fentanyl and its analogs have become the dominant drug in accidental intoxication deaths in Connecticut. As death certificates are important public health surveillance tools, reporting of suspected intoxication deaths to the medical examiners office and then the proper investigation and certification, are keys to monitoring this crisis. The number of accidental drug intoxication deaths in 2018 was similar to that of 2017 which may represent a peaking of the opioid crisis. Hopefully, public health interventions will continue to not only stop the increase but also now start to decrease these deaths. © 2019 Connecticut State Medical Society. All rights reserved.

Language: en