Premium
The Outbreak of Fentanyl‐Related Deaths in Cook County, Illinois, Between October 2015 and December 2017: A Retrospective Study and a Comparison with Previous Data
Author(s) -
Serinelli Serenella,
White Steven,
Arunkumar Ponni,
Wang Dongliang,
Gitto Lorenzo
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/1556-4029.14114
Subject(s) - medicine , medical examiner , epidemiology , outbreak , fentanyl , demography , public health , substance abuse , population , poison control , environmental health , gerontology , injury prevention , surgery , psychiatry , nursing , virology , sociology
The National Institute on Drug Abuse has observed an increase in fentanyl deaths in the United States. One epidemic related to the abuse of fentanyl happened in Cook County in 2005–2007 (350 deaths). Another outbreak of fentanyl deaths occurred in 2015–2017 in the same area. The database of the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office was searched for cases of fentanyl deaths between 2015 and 2017: 1244 deaths were found. A comparison was performed with the previous data: an increase in the number of females was observed in 2015–2017. Also, in 2005–2007, the majority of deaths occurred among African American, while in 2015–2017, Caucasians were more involved. Within our population, some drug combinations were more common in specific demographic subgroups (male/females; Caucasian/African American; and certain age groups). The epidemiology and the most significant drug associations found at the toxicology are discussed, highlighting the usefulness of the knowledge about this outbreak for public health.