ArticleSubstance use : research and treatment
Opioid Overdose Hospitalizations During COVID-19: The Experience of Pennsylvania.
Article in Substance use : research and treatment. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Patient-Directed Discharge Among Hospitalized Persons With Opioid Use Disorder in the Fentanyl Era: A Scoping Review.American journal of medicine open · 2026Review
- Shifting Demographics and Polysubstance Drivers of Overdose Mortality in Pennsylvania (1999-2020).Cureus · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic placed extreme burden on hospitals, while opioid overdose is another challenging public health issue. This study aimed to examine the trends and outcomes of opioid overdose hospitalizations in Pennsylvania during 2018 to 2021. Design: We identified opioid overdose hospitalizations in the state of Pennsylvania using the state-wide hospital discharge database (PHC4) 2018 to 2021. We examined the number of opioid overdose hospitalizations, the corresponding mortality and discharges against medical advice comparing the pre-COVID period (2018-2019) and the COVID period (2020-2021). We also assessed what patient and hospital characteristics were associated with in-hospital death or leaving against medical advice. Results: A total of 13 446 opioid-related hospitalizations were identified in 2018 to 2021. Compared to pre-pandemic, a higher percentage of cases involving synthetics (17.0%vs 10.3%, Conclusion: There were no substantial changes in the number of overall opioid overdose cases and deaths at hospitals following the outbreak of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania. This observation suggests that an increased number of patients may have succumbed to overdoses outside of hospital settings, possibly due to a higher severity of overdoses. Further, we found that patients were more likely to leave against medical advice during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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