An interrupted time series analysis of trends in opioid-related emergency department visits from pre-COVID-19 pandemic to pandemic, from the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program
Abstract
Background Opioid-related emergency department (ED) visits in Canada increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, but how trends in volume and case severity changed from pre-pandemic times through the pandemic is not known. Trends in ED visits related to specific types of opioids also remain unclear. Our objective was to describe pre-pandemic trends and how they changed with the onset of COVID-19 and thereafter. Methods Based on data from the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program, we identified opioid-related ED visits and constructed a time series from March 12, 2018 through March 7, 2021—two pre-COVID periods and one COVID period. We used an interrupted time series (ITS) analysis to examine trends in volume and case severity. We compared medians and means of monthly counts and percentages of severe cases between the periods, by sex, age, and opioid type. Results Before the pandemic, there was an increasing trend in fentanyl-related visits for males, females and 25- to 64-year-olds, and a decreasing trend in heroin-related visits for males and 18- to 64-year-olds. Fentanyl-related visits for 18- to 24-year-olds showed an immediate increase at the start of the pandemic and a decreasing trend during the pandemic. Heroin-related visits for 12- to 17-year-olds had an immediate increase at the start of the pandemic; for 18- to 24-year-olds and 45- to 64-year-olds, the prior decreasing pre-pandemic trend ceased. For pooled opioid-related visits, no significant…
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