Standardized Criteria for Review of Perinatal Suicides and Accidental Drug-Related Deaths.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the proportion of accidental drug-related deaths and suicides classified as pregnancy-related from 2013 to 2014 (preimplementation of standardized criteria) and 2015 to 2016 (postimplementation). METHODS: Based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pregnancy-related death criteria, the Utah Perinatal Mortality Review Committee developed a standardized evaluation tool to assess accidental drug-related death and suicide beginning in 2015. We performed a retrospective case review of all pregnancy-associated deaths (those occurring during pregnancy or 1 year postpartum for any reason) and pregnancy-related deaths (those directly attributable to the pregnancy or postpartum events) evaluated by Utah's Perinatal Mortality Review Committee from 2013 to 2016. We compared the proportion of accidental drug-related deaths and suicides meeting pregnancy-related criteria preimplementation and postimplementation of a standardized criteria checklist tool using Fisher's exact test. We assessed the change in pregnancy-related mortality ratio in Utah from 2013 to 2014 and 2015 to 2016 using test of trend. RESULTS: From 2013 to 2016, there were 80 pregnancy-associated deaths in Utah (2013-2014: n=40; 2015-2016: n=40), and 41 (51%) were pregnancy-related (2013-2014: n=15, 2015-2016: n=26). In 2013-2014 (preimplementation), 12 women died of drug-related deaths or suicides, and only two of these deaths were deemed pregnancy-related (17%). In 2015-2016 (postimplementation), 18 women died of drug-related deaths or suicide, and 94% (n=17/18) of these deaths met one or more of the pregnancy-related criteria on the checklist (P<.001). From 2013 to 2014 to 2015-2016, Utah's overall pregnancy-related mortality ratio more than doubled, from 11.8 of 100,000 to 25.7 of 100,000 (P=.08). CONCLUSION: After application of standardized criteria, the Utah Perinatal Mortality Review Committee determined that pregnancy itself was the inciting event leading to the majority of accidental drug-related deaths or suicides among pregnant and postpartum women. Other maternal mortality review committees may consider a standardized approach to assessing perinatal suicides and accidental drug-related deaths.

Lessons Learned Serving on a Long-Standing Maternal Mortality Review Committee.

The maternal mortality ratio in the United States is increasing; understanding the significance of this change and developing effective responses requires a granular analysis of the contributing factors that a well-informed maternal mortality review committee can provide. Data collection and analysis, clinical factors, preventability, social determinants of health, and racial inequities combine to affect this outcome, and each factor must be considered individually and in combination to recommend a robust response. Obstetrician-gynecologists formed the State of Michigan's Maternal Mortality Review Committee (the Committee) in 1950 to identify gaps in care that needed to be systematically addressed at the time. In the early years, the Committee witnessed a reduction in the number of maternal deaths; over time, prioritization of maternal mortality decreased, yet the Committee witnessed changing patterns of death, varied data collection and evaluation processes, delayed reviews, and unimplemented recommendations. The calculation of the maternal mortality ratio was not informed by the outcomes of Committee reviews. Today, the Committee, with increased support from the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services, can clearly identify and report preventable pregnancy-related mortality along with its causes and is close to achieving a near real-time surveillance system that allows the development of timely clinical and policy recommendations and interventions. The Committee's adaptations in response to the rise in maternal mortality have resulted in several lessons learned that may be helpful for currently operating committees and in the formation of new ones.

Intentional or Inadvertent Acetaminophen Overdose-How Lethal It Really Is?

BACKGROUND: Acetaminophen, the ubiquitous over-the-counter analgesic and antipyretic, is the most common drug used in intentional overdoses in the United States. Inadvertent self-poisoning is also a surprisingly common unintended consequence of acetaminophen misuse for pain management. OBJECTIVE: The primary goal of this naturalistic study was to substantiate outcomes that were previously described in other large cohorts of patients with acetaminophen overdoses. METHODS: The Rochester Epidemiology Project yielded a cohort of 207 patients of age 18 years or older treated at the Mayo Clinic between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2010 for excessive acetaminophen exposure. Patients with a diagnosis of acetaminophen overdose, acetaminophen ingestion, and/or acetaminophen toxicity were characterized according to demographics, treatment location, overdose intentionality, identities of the drugs and amounts taken, mental health and addiction history, previous suicide attempts, and current alcohol intake. Outcomes included N-acetylcysteine treatment, emergence of serious clinical syndromes, and admission to the liver transplant unit (LTU), liver transplant, and death. Data were analyzed using the JMP statistical program. RESULTS: Of 140 females and 67 males treated in the emergency department (ED), 184 (89%) were admitted, including 116 (56%) to the intensive care unit, 26 (13%) to medicine services, 18 (9%) directly to LTU, 23 (11%) directly to psychiatry services, and 1 (0.5%) to off-campus detox. The consultation-liaison (C-L) psychiatry service evaluated 175 patients (85%). Eighteen intensive care unit/medicine patients were eventually transferred to the LTU, and 104 of the 184 patients not immediately admitted to psychiatry were ultimately transferred there. Of all, 158 (76.3%) overdoses were intentional, but in the chronic pain subset of 14 patients, only 4 (29%) were. One hundred twenty-seven (61%) patients had no previous suicide attempt history. Twenty-one percent of the intentional overdose group versus 12.5% of the unintentional overdose group was intoxicated at the time of overdose. One hundred thirty-five (65%) patients received N-acetylcysteine, but barely a third (33%) were treated within the recommended 8 hours of overdose. Nonetheless, most outcomes were benign: only 36 (17.6%) required LTU admission because of serious medical complications. Only 12 received consideration for transplant, and only 5 (2.7%) were listed for transplant. Three (1.5%) ultimately received new livers. Two (1.0%) died awaiting transplant. Two of the 3 transplanted patients had unintentionally overdosed while treating chronic pain. CONCLUSIONS: A vast majority of patients survived and recovered without lasting medical sequelae, including liver transplant. Half of the patients received N-acetylcysteine, and only a third received it within the recommended 8-hour window after ingestion. Serious medical consequences were concentrated in the 17% of patients requiring LTU admission. With a transplant rate of 1.5% and a death rate of less than 1%, we conclude that the risk of serious medical outcomes from this frequent overdose modality is rare, even as the majority of both intentional and unintentional overdose patients received both inpatient medical and psychiatric treatment.

A retrospective observational study on patients intoxicated by drugs and other xenobiotics.

OBJECTIVES: Many research studies conducted in various toxicology centers point to drugs as the most common cause of intoxication. Long-term observations make it possible to clarify the nature of these poisonings. The aim of this study was to examine the trends and reasons of intoxication in patients hospitalized over a 10-year observation period (2005-2015), as well as to compare the number of patients poisoned with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), mainly over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective observational study examined the medical documentation of patients hospitalized in the Department of Toxicology and Internal Diseases of the T. Marciniak Lower Silesian Specialist Hospital in Wroclaw in 2005-2015, including the analysis of the causes of intoxication as well as total poisoning-related death statistics. Quarterly and annual analyses of the numerical data, and comparisons of the frequency of poisonings were included. The patient population from the area of Lower Silesia, Poland, was examined. RESULTS: The number of hospitalized patients has increased, with attempted suicide being the leading cause of death. Male intoxication and mortality have been found to predominate. Drugs are the most common cause of poisoning, and among these the most common are sedatives and psychotropic drugs. Intoxication due to NSAIDs, especially OTC drugs, increased significantly in the observation period. In 2005 no fatal cases were reported as a result of NSAID intoxication, while in 2015 mortality significantly increased to 43%. CONCLUSIONS: The lack of a common trend in poisonings is observed but the number of hospitalized patients has increased, especially among young people, which is consistent with global trends. Drugs are the most common cause of mortality, and a significant increase in NSAID (mainly OTC) poisonings in particular indicates the growing prevalence of an uncontrolled use of these drugs. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2019;32(4):489-501.

Perspectives on the opioid crisis from pain medicine clinicians.

Patients experiencing a terminal drug related event reflect a sentinel event. If this pharmacotherapy is a widely used agent, it may be viewed as a catastrophic problem. If patients are dying from illegal drug use when the medical establishment fails them by withdrawing or minimizing their medically prescribed medication, then the burden rests with their health care providers, legislation, and insurance carriers to actively participate in a collegial fashion to achieve parity. Causing a decay in functionality in previously functional patients, may occur with appropriately prescribed opioid medications addressing non-cancer pain when withdrawing or diminishing either with or without patient consent. The members of the medical profession have diminished their prescribing of opioids for their patients out of apparent fear of reprisal, state or federal government sanctions, and other concerned groups. Diminishing former dosages or deleting the opioid medication, preferably in concert with the patient, often results in inequitable patient care. Enforcing sanctioned decreases or ceasing to prescribe from their former required/established opioid medications precipitate patient discord. In absence of opioid misuse, abuse, diversion or addiction based upon medical "guidelines" and with a poor foundation of Evidence Based Medicine the CDC guidelines, it may be masked as a true guideline reflecting a decrement of clinical judgment, wisdom, and compassion. This article also discusses the role of pharmacy chains, insurance carriers, and their pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) contribution to this multidimensional problem. There may be a potential solution, identified in this paper, if all the associated political, medical and insurance groups work cohesively to improve patient care. This article and the CDC guidelines are not focused at hospice, palliative, end of life care pain management.

Non-medical use of psychoactive prescription drugs is associated with fatal poisoning.

AIMS: The aims of this study were to estimate the prevalence and predictors of non-medical substance use, and to assess the association between non-medical substance use and fatal poisoning or history of drug abuse in Finland. DESIGN AND SETTING: Retrospective cohort study of all medico-legally investigated death cases in Finland. The postmortem toxicology database was linked together with the register on reimbursed prescription medicines. PARTICIPANTS AND CASES: All postmortem cases between 2011 and 2013 positive for one or more of the following drugs: oxycodone, fentanyl, tramadol, clonazepam, gabapentin, pregabalin, tizanidine, olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone, alprazolam, zolpidem, mirtazapine and bupropion, n = 2974. MEASUREMENTS: Non-medical use of substance was the outcome variable. Predictors were the following: gender, residence at the time of death, place of death, blood alcohol concentration, age, drug abuse, number of prescriptions of any psychoactive drugs in last year and proportion of prescriptions issued by psychiatrist in last year. FINDINGS: In 50.4% of the studied cases, at least one drug was detected without a prescription. Clonazepam, alprazolam and tramadol were the most prevalent non-medical findings in these cases (6.6, 6.1 and 5.6%, respectively). The risk of non-medical use of prescription drugs was especially high in cases with history of drug abuse (88.5%) and in fatal poisonings (71.0%). The proportion of non-medical use of the studied substances varied between 5.9% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 3.1-10.1%)] for risperidone and 55.7% for fentanyl (95% CI = 44.1-66.9%). Valid prescription for one or more of any psychoactive drug was associated with lower odds for non-medical use of the studied substances. Additionally, the higher the proportion of psychoactive drugs prescribed by a psychiatrist, the lower the probability of non-medical use. CONCLUSIONS: Non-prescribed psychoactive drugs are found commonly at postmortem in drug poisoning deaths in Finland, with history of drug abuse being a major contributing factor.

Unintentional mortality associated with paracetamol and codeine preparations, with and without doxylamine, in Australia.

INTRODUCTION: Misuse of paracetamol, codeine and doxylamine combination analgesics may lead to addiction and mortality. This study aimed to (1) identify unintentional deaths in Australia associated with use of combination analgesic products containing paracetamol, codeine and doxylamine; (2) describe cases characteristics, including demographics and additional medication use; and (3) identify common factors associated with misuse and mortality of these medicines in Australia. DESIGN: This retrospective case series analysed National Coronial Information System data to identify cases of unintentional death attributable to paracetamol, codeine and doxylamine products between 2002 and 2012. SETTING: Three Eastern Australian states: New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, comprising a population of approximately 18.6 million people. RESULTS: 441 unintentional deaths attributed to paracetamol/codeine products were identified; doxylamine was detected in 102 cases (23%). Overall unintentional death rates rose from 0.9-per-million in 2002 to 3.6-per-million in 2009, declining to 1.9-per-million in 2012. Median age at time of death was 48, half of all cases occurred between 35-54 years of age, and 57% were female. Concomitant medication use was detected in 79% of cases, including benzodiazepines, other opioids, psychiatric medications, alcohol and illicit drugs. Behaviours consistent with drug misuse including doctor/pharmacy shopping, excessive dosages and extended use, were identified in 24% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: This study identified 441 deaths associated with codeine-combination analgesic products across three Australian states; with an average of 40 deaths per year. Death commonly involved multiple substance use and abuse behaviours indicative of misuse and dependence.

Women are dying early from drug misuse.

Women who misuse drugs are dying prematurely and in increasing numbers. The past decade has seen a 95% rise in the number of women dying as a result of drug misuse: 357 died in 2006, while 697 died in 2016.