Using Poison Center Exposure Calls to Predict Methadone Poisoning Deaths

Abstract

Purpose There are more drug overdose deaths in the Untied States than motor vehicle fatalities. Yet the US vital statistics reporting system is of limited value because the data are delayed by four years. Poison centers report data within an hour of the event, but previous studies suggested a small proportion of poisoning deaths are reported to poison centers (PC). In an era of improved electronic surveillance capabilities, exposure calls to PCs may be an alternate indicator of trends in overdose mortality. Methods We used PC call counts for methadone that were reported to the Researched Abuse, Diversion and Addiction-Related Surveillance (RADARS®) System in 2006 and 2007. US death certificate data were used to identify deaths due to methadone. Linear regression was used to quantify the relationship of deaths and poison center calls. Results Compared to decedents, poison center callers tended to be younger, more often female, at home and less likely to require medical attention. A strong association was found with PC calls and methadone mortality (b = 0.88, se = 0.42, t = 9.5, df = 1, p<0.0001, R 2 = 0.77). These findings were robust to large changes in a sensitivity analysis assessing the impact of underreporting of methadone overdose deaths. Conclusions Our results suggest that calls to poison centers for methadone are correlated with poisoning mortality as identified on death certificates. Calls received by poison centers may be used for timely surveillance of mortality due to methadone. In the midst of the prescription opioid overdose epidemic, electronic surveillance tools that report in real-time are powerful public health tools.

Public Health Effects of Medical Marijuana Legalization in Colorado

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Trends in Opioid Analgesic Abuse and Mortality in the United States

“…[9][10][11][12][13] Several analyses describe the relations among these programs and other information sources such as the Drug Abuse Warning Network and the National Vital Statistics System. 10,14 To represent the trends with respect to prescription opioid analgesics, we grouped all marketed products and formulations (branded and generic) of six prescription analgesics: oxycodone, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, fentanyl, morphine, and tramadol. More recent market entrants with smaller market shares (e.g., oxymorphone and tapentadol) were excluded so that the trend analysis involved a consistent profile of analgesics.…”

Regional variations in pediatric medication exposure: Spatial analysis of poison center utilization in western Pennsylvania

“…While previous studies have applied spatial analysis to understand patterns in adult prescription drug use, we found a dearth of studies using spatial techniques to investigate geographic patterns of medication poisoning in children. 17–20 Moreover, there is a critical gap in our understanding of the socioeconomic context of American childhood poisoning. 21–24 This investigation’s demographic characterization offers some first insights to the socio-economic context of American childhood poisoning.…”