Emergency department overdose visits involving heroin climbed 197 percent, and heroin-related deaths climbed 207 percent in Kentucky in 2012, while benzodiazepines were associated with the highest number of emergency department visits and hospitalizations, according to new analysis. The spike in drug abuse
and overdoses involving heroin is not unique to Kentucky. According to American data, the number of heroin users increased by up to 80 percent from 2007 to 2012. Many experts suspect a connection between increased heroin use and decreasing non-medical prescription opiate abuse.
A new report from the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center (KIPRC) reveals the prevalence and charges associated with drug overdose in the Bluegrass state. The report, "Drug Overdose Deaths, Hospitalizations, and Emergency Department Visits in Kentucky, 2000‐2012," analyzes overdose morbidity and mortality among Kentucky residents and documents the enormous societal and financial toll on the Commonwealth's population. KIPRC, located in the UK College of Public Health, is a bona fide agent for the Kentucky Department for Public Health.
The report includes points of encouragement and concern. The good news is that, overall, overdose deaths and emergency department visits leveled off from 2011 to 2012, and the contribution of prescription opioids and benzodiazepines to drug overdoses decreased.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140221103711.htm
Full report: http://www.mc.uky.edu/kiprc/PDF/Drug-Overdose-Report-released.pdf
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