• Roland C Merchant, Beth L Schwartzapfel, Francis A Wolf, Wenjun Li, Lynn Carlson, and Josiah D Rich.
• Division of Infectious Diseases, Brown University School of Medicine, Providence, RI 02903, USA. rmerchant@lifespan.org
• Subst Use Misuse. 2006 Jan 1;41(9):1209-26.

AbstractWe examine ambulance runs for suspected opiate overdose from 1997 to 2002 using a Rhode Island Department of Health database. Of the 8,763 ambulance runs for overdoses, 18.6% were for suspected opiate overdoses. Most cases were males under age 54. Suspected opiate overdoses were more likely to occur in a private residence, were more frequent on Fridays and Saturdays, and peaked in incidence around 9:00 p.m. The incidence rate of suspected opiate overdose by year was similar. The study results may help identify areas for preventive intervention and demonstrate the limitation of using naloxone as a marker of opiate overdose events.

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