It’s no secret that opioid use is on the rise nationwide. In fact, more than 60% of overdose deaths involve an opioid, and since 1999 the number of overdose deaths involving opioids have quadrupled. When people think of opioids they typically think of heroin, but they often forget about opiates prescribed for pain by a health care provider. In fact, overdoses from prescription opioids are a major contributor to the 15 year increase in overdose deaths in the United States. Nevada is no exception to the increase in opioid use. Between 2010 and 2015, Emergency Room encounters related to opioids more than doubled, and inpatient admissions increased by nearly 75%. Opioid related hospitalizations do not discriminate against one particular age range; in 2015, over a quarter of Emergency Room encounters and over a third of inpatient admissions were among patients aged 55 and over. Opioid-related overdose deaths in Nevada have decreased by 15% between 2010 and 2015, and the greatest number of deaths each year occur among those who are 45-54 years of age. Prevention is key in decreasing, and ultimately eliminating, overdose deaths. Prevention can take many different forms: education, stewardship of opioid prescriptions, and overdose reversal drugs such as naloxone. In fact, naloxone was administered to almost 15% of Emergency Department patients with opioid poisoning in Nevada in 2015. Naloxone is an opiate antagonist that can reverse the effects of an opioid if administered in time; it binds to the opiate receptors in the brain, taking the place of an opioid. Nevada recently codified into the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act, provides protections to those who call for help in the case of an overdose, and it also expands access to naloxone. At this time, CVS and Walgreens locations in Nevada stock naloxone.
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AuthorOPHIE records and analyzes data from disease investigations, identifies risk factors, and provides education on disease prevention in Nevada. Archives
November 2018
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