Preventable deaths involving opioids in England and Wales, 2013-2022: a systematic case series of coroners' reports.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Opioid deaths have increased in England and Wales. Coroners' Prevention of Future Deaths reports (PFDs) provide important insights that may enable safer use and avert harms, yet reports implicating opioids have not been synthesized. We aimed to identify opioid-related PFDs and explore coroners' concerns to prevent future deaths.

Methods

In this systematic case series, we screened 3897 coronial PFDs dated between 01 July 2013 and 23 February 2022, obtained by web scraping the UK's Courts and Tribunals Judiciary website. PFDs were included when an opioid was implicated in the death. Included PFDs were descriptively analysed, and content analysis was used to assess concerns reported by coroners.

Results

Opioids were involved in 219 deaths reported in PFDs (5·6

SUBMITTER: Dernie F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10687604 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature