Non-fatal overdose among opiate users in Wales: A national survey

Abstract

Aims: To obtain a national prevalence estimate of non-fatal overdose among opiate users and describe the characteristics of non-fatal overdose events in Wales. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Twenty-nine Needle and Syringe Programmes (NSPs) operated by drug treatment agencies across Wales. Participants: Six-hundred sixty-one opiate users who attended NSPs during February and March 2013. Measurements: Consecutive opiate users were asked to complete a structured questionnaire about their history of overdose and the circumstances of their most recent overdose. Findings: Almost half (47%) of the respondents reported having overdosed at least once in their lives and 15% had done so in the last year. On average, respondents who reported overdosing in the last year had done so twice. The majority of overdoses was accidental (95%) and followed the injection of opiates (96%). Life-saving actions were not uncommon and included calling for an ambulance (66%), administration of naloxone (40%), and use of CPR (27%). Non-paramedic bystanders were often involved in taking potentially life-saving actions to help victims of opiate overdose. Conclusions: The research has generated previously unknown findings on the prevalence and nature of non-fatal overdose among opiate users in Wales. These results can be used to monitor the effectiveness of harm reduction interventions.

Keywords:

• Opiates
• overdose
• Wales

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Josie Smith (Public Health Wales) for providing data from the Harm Reduction Database for Wales. We would also like to thank the Needle and Syringe Programmes for conducting the interviews and submitting the data.

Declaration of interest

Professor Katy Holloway and Professor Trevor Bennett declare no conflict of interest. Dr Rhian Hills declares that she is an employee of the funding body (Welsh Government, Substance Misuse Division).