The relationship between COVID-19 and opioid-related emergency department visits in Alberta, Canada: an interrupted time series analysis.

IF 2.2 4区医学 Q2 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada-Research Policy and Practice Pub Date : 2025-09-01 DOI:10.24095/hpcdp.45.9.01

Kelsey A Speed, Hauwa Bwala, Nicole D Gehring, Marawan Ahmed, Kathryn Dong, Parabhdeep Lail, Shanell Twan, Gillian Harvey, Patrick McLane, Ginetta Salvalaggio, T Cameron Wild, Klaudia Dmitrienko, Joshua Hathaway, Elaine Hyshka

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Introduction: Emergency departments (EDs) are important health care access points for people who use drugs (PWUD), but little is known about whether the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with changes in opioid-related emergency presentations. We investigated whether (1) the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with any change in average rates of opioid-related ED visits in Alberta; and (2) this varied across regions with different COVID-19 case rates.

Methods: We conducted maximum-likelihood interrupted time series analyses to compare opioid-related ED visits during the "prepandemic period" (3 March 2019-1 March 2020) and the "pandemic period" (2 March 2020-14 March 2021).

Results: There were 8883 and 11 657 opioid-related ED visits during the prepandemic and pandemic periods, respectively. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with an increase in opioid-related ED visits (Edmonton: IRR = 1.37, 95% CI: 1.30- 1.44, p < 0.05; Calgary: IRR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.07-1.20, p < 0.05; Other health zones: IRR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.07-1.21, p < 0.05). Changing COVID-19 case counts did not correspond with changing rates of opioid-related ED visits across regions.

Conclusion: The increase in opioid-related ED visits associated with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was unrelated to COVID-19 case prevalence in Alberta.

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加拿大艾伯塔省COVID-19与阿片类药物相关急诊就诊之间的关系：中断时间序列分析

简介：急诊科（EDs）是药物使用者（PWUD）的重要卫生保健接入点，但对于COVID-19大流行的发作是否与阿片类药物相关急诊表现的变化有关，我们知之甚少。我们调查了(1)在艾伯塔省，COVID-19大流行的爆发是否与阿片类药物相关的急诊就诊平均率的变化有关；(2)不同地区的COVID-19病例率不同。方法：我们进行了最大似然中断时间序列分析，比较“大流行前时期”（2019年3月3日至2020年3月1日）和“大流行时期”（2020年3月2日至2021年3月14日）阿片类药物相关急诊科就诊情况。结果：大流行前和大流行期间，阿片类药物相关急诊科就诊人数分别为8883例和11 657例。COVID-19大流行的发生与阿片类药物相关的急诊科就诊增加有关（埃德蒙顿：IRR = 1.37, 95% CI: 1.30- 1.44, p < 0.05；卡尔加里：IRR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.07-1.20, p < 0.05；其他卫生区：IRR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.07-1.21, p < 0.05）。变化的COVID-19病例数与各地区阿片类药物相关急诊科就诊率的变化不一致。结论：与COVID-19大流行发病相关的阿片类药物相关急诊科就诊增加与阿尔伯塔省COVID-19病例患病率无关。

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来源期刊

Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada-Research Policy and Practice PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH -

CiteScore

4.10

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

40 weeks

期刊介绍： Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada: Research, Policy and Practice (the HPCDP Journal) is the monthly, online scientific journal of the Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch of the Public Health Agency of Canada. The journal publishes articles on disease prevention, health promotion and health equity in the areas of chronic diseases, injuries and life course health. Content includes research from fields such as public/community health, epidemiology, biostatistics, the behavioural and social sciences, and health services or economics.