By EMS1 Staff
ATLANTA, Ga. — Opioid overdose deaths have increased 150 percent from 2012 to 2015 in Massachusetts, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The largest proportion of overdose deaths in the state involves fentanyl, which increased 32 percent during 2013 to 2014 and 74 percent in the first half of 2016. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner collaborated with the CDC to investigate fentanyl overdoses in three counties with high overdose death rates.
The team found that two-thirds of decedents tested positive for fentanyl by interviewing people who use illicit opioids and by reviewing medical examiner records of overdose deaths. The majority of fentanyl overdose deaths were suspected to involve illicitly made, non-pharmaceutical fentanyl, according to the report.
The team recommended that clinicians test for fentanyl when providing opioid therapy, to educate opioid users about naloxone and to have an observer ready to call 911 if needed.