Emergency department (ED) visits for suspected opioid overdoses rose by 30% throughout the U.S. in a year, according to the CDC.
"All five regions of the U.S. saw significant increases during this time period," said Anne Schuchat, MD, acting CDC director, in a CDC tele-briefing Tuesday.
The analysis, appearing in a new Vital Signs report, was based on about 91 million ED visits in 52 jurisdictions within 45 states from July 2016 to September 2017 from the CDC's National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP) Biosense Platform. It included 142,557 visits that were suspected opioid overdose cases, a 29.7% hike from the previous 1-year period.
Midwestern states increased the most dramatically, with a 70% jump fueled by a doubling (109% increase) of overdose ED visits in Wisconsin. A similar rise of 105% was seen in Delaware. Pennsylvania experienced an 81% hike.
The largest drop was in Kentucky, where overdose ED visits declined by 15%. "The decrease in Kentucky during this period of time may reflect some fluctuations in drug supply," Schuchat said, adding that the CDC will investigate and confirm this data.
And the rise was not just in rural America: Overdose ED visits in large, metropolitan areas throughout 16 states in the Enhanced State Opioid Overdose Surveillance program increased steadily each quarter for a total increase of 54%, she said.
Until now, the CDC has reported mostly about overdose deaths, Schuchat noted, but "looking at ED data can help us get information before people die." Most states now use ED data (also called syndromic data) to identify where resources are needed or where gaps exist.