Risk of death is high in the period following ED presentation for opioid overdose

A retrospective study of 11,557 people treated in ED for a non-fatal overdose in the USA has examined the ultimate outcome of death from any cause within 1 year of overdose treatment. Of these 635 (5.5%) died within 1 year, 130 (1.1%) died within 1 month, and 29 (0.25%) died within 2 days. The early period after presentation with an overdose was definitely the highest-risk period and interventions such as monitoring, counseling, and referral to treatment before discharge should be considered to address this. The original report, published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, can be viewed here