Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40960730›Full record

ArticleHealth promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice2025

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

Kelsey A Speed, Hauwa Bwala, Nicole D Gehring, Marawan Ahmed, Kathryn Dong, Parabhdeep Lail, Shanell Twan, Gillian Harvey, Patrick McLane, Ginetta Salvalaggio and 4 more

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Article in Health promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Kelsey A SpeedSchool of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Hauwa BwalaSchool of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Nicole D GehringSchool of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Marawan AhmedQuantitative Solutions, Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Kathryn DongDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Parabhdeep LailDepartment of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Shanell TwanThe Alberta Alliance Who Educate and Advocate Responsibly (AAWEAR), Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Gillian HarveyDepartment of Art and Design, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Patrick McLaneDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Ginetta SalvalaggioDepartment of Family Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
T Cameron WildSchool of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Klaudia DmitrienkoAlberta Health Services, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Joshua HathawayAlberta Health Services, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Elaine HyshkaSchool of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionEmergency 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.

methodsWe 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).

resultsThere 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.

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

Indexed as

Analgesics, OpioidCOVID-19Emergency Service, HospitalOpioid-Related DisordersAdultAlbertaEmergency Room VisitsFemaleHumansInterrupted Time Series AnalysisMaleMiddle AgedPandemicsSARS-CoV-2Analgesics, OpioidCOVID-19drug overdoseemergency medicineopioid usepeople who use drugpublic healthsubstance use

Identifiers

PMID40960730
PMCPMC12652268

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.