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Accidental and deliberate overdose among opiate addicts in methadone maintenance treatment: are deliberate overdoses systematically different?
Author(s) -
BEST DAVID,
GOSSOP MICHAEL,
MAN LANHO,
FINCH EMILY,
GREENWOOD JUDY,
STRANG JOHN
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
drug and alcohol review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.018
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1465-3362
pISSN - 0959-5236
DOI - 10.1080/713659326
Subject(s) - accidental , drug overdose , methadone , opiate , medicine , psychiatry , addiction , medical emergency , poison control , physics , receptor , acoustics
The frequency of accidental or deliberate overdose was investigated among 200 opiate addicts in methadone substitution treatment in clinics in Edinburgh and south London. One hundred and three of the participants reported a mean of 3.4 overdoses, with 71 (69%) reporting that their most recent overdose was accidental, 27 (26%) deliberate—the remainder were uncertain. Those whose last overdose was deliberate were more likely to have been prescribed diazepam at that time and were more depressed at the time of interview. Differentiation by self‐reported reason for overdose suggests that treatment providers should distinguish between accidental and deliberate overdose in developing overdose prevention strategies.