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Response to overdose among injection drug users.

Robin A Pollini¹, Lisa McCall, Shruti H Mehta

¹Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California-San Diego, San Diego, California, USA.

American Journal of Preventive Medicine

|August 15, 2006

Summary

Many injection drug users (IDUs) witness overdoses but respond inappropriately, often delaying emergency calls. Education from medical sources improves response, reducing overdose mortality.

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Area of Science:

Public Health
Epidemiology
Addiction Medicine

Background:

Drug overdose is a significant cause of mortality among individuals who use illicit drugs.
Injection drug users (IDUs) are particularly vulnerable to overdose events.
Understanding overdose response behaviors among IDUs is critical for harm reduction strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

To characterize the overdose response behaviors of injection drug users (IDUs) in Baltimore, Maryland.
To identify factors associated with medically inappropriate overdose responses.
To assess the impact of information sources on overdose response behaviors.

Main Methods:

A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 924 IDUs between August 2003 and September 2004.
Structured interviews collected self-reported data on witnessing overdose events and response actions.

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Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with medically inappropriate responses.

Main Results:

A majority of IDUs (69.7%) reported witnessing at least one overdose.
Common inappropriate responses included shaking the victim (64.9%) and inflicting pain (62.6%).
IDUs receiving overdose information solely from lay sources were less likely to call 911 and more likely to administer salt water injections.

Conclusions:

Medically inappropriate overdose responses are prevalent among IDUs in Baltimore.
Overdose education provided by medical and social services can improve emergency response times.
Interventions should aim to enhance overdose education and potentially reduce fear of police involvement to decrease overdose mortality.