Opioid overdoses in ERs up 30 percent as crisis worsens
NEW YORK (AP) — Emergency rooms saw a big jump in overdoses from opioids last year — the latest evidence the nation's drug crisis is getting worse.
A government report released Tuesday shows overdoses from opioids increased 30 percent late last summer, compared to the same three-month period in 2016. The biggest jumps were in the Midwest and in cities, but increases occurred nationwide. Wisconsin saw a 109% increase.
The report did not differentiate between prescription pain pills, heroin, fentanyl and other opioids.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently started using a new system to track ER overdoses and found the rate of opioid overdoses rose from 14 to 18 per 100,000 ER visits over a year.
Almost all those overdoses were not fatal. Opioids were involved in two-thirds of all overdose deaths in 2016.