The impact of the national stay-at-home order on emergency department visits for suspected opioid overdose during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

Elisabeth D. Root, Svetla Slavova, Marc LaRochelle, Daniel J. Feaster, Jennifer Villani, Jolene Defiore-Hyrmer, Nabila El-Bassel, Rosa Ergas, Kitty Gelberg, Rebecca Jackson, Kara Manchester, Megha Parikh, Peter Rock, Sharon L. Walsh

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Although national syndromic surveillance data reported declines in emergency department (ED) visits after the declaration of the national stay-at-home order for COVID-19, little is known whether these declines were observed for suspected opioid overdose. Methods: This interrupted time series study used syndromic surveillance data from four states participating in the HEALing Communities Study: Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio. All ED encounters for suspected opioid overdose (n = 48,301) occurring during the first 31 weeks of 2020 were included. We examined the impact of the national public health emergency for COVID-19 (declared on March 14, 2020) on trends in ED encounters for suspected opioid overdose. Results: Three of four states (Massachusetts, New York and Ohio) experienced a statistically significant immediate decline in the rate of ED encounters for suspected opioid overdose (per 100,000) after the nationwide public health emergency declaration (MA: -0.99; 95 % CI: -1.75, -0.24; NY: -0.10; 95 % CI, -0.20, 0.0; OH: -0.33, 95 % CI: -0.58, -0.07). After this date, Ohio and Kentucky experienced a sustained rate of increase for a 13-week period. New York experienced a decrease in the rate of ED encounters for a 10-week period, after which the rate began to increase. In Massachusetts after a significant immediate decline in the rate of ED encounters, there was no significant difference in the rate of change for a 6-week period, followed by an immediate increase in the ED rate to higher than pre-COVID levels. Conclusions: The heterogeneity in the trends in ED encounters between the four sites show that the national stay-at-home order had a differential impact on opioid overdose ED presentation in each state.

Original languageEnglish
Article number108977
JournalDrug and Alcohol Dependence
Volume228
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 1 2021

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021

Keywords

  • COVID-19
  • Emergency department encounter
  • HEALing Communities Study
  • Opioid use disorder
  • Segmented regression
  • Syndromic surveillance

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Toxicology
  • Pharmacology
  • Psychiatry and Mental health
  • Pharmacology (medical)

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