McClaren Rodriguez, Melissa Basta, Jason Rhodes, Benjamin D Hallowell
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objectives: To improve rapid detection and response to spikes in suspected nonfatal opioid overdoses in the community, the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) sought to modify its case definition to align with newly released guidance from the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE).
Methods: RIDOH used CSTE guidance to create 2 alternative criteria (CSTE-guided and RIDOH-modified CSTE) to replace one of RIDOH's original criteria. We gathered emergency medical services (EMS) records from 4 months in 2022 to determine whether they met any criteria, and we reviewed them to determine the accuracy of identifying an opioid overdose. We calculated the positive predictive value for each criterion individually and as a complete case definition (RIDOH original definition, CSTE-guided definition, and RIDOH-modified CSTE definition).
Results: The RIDOH-modified CSTE case definition was adopted because it had a positive predictive value of 91.5% in identifying nonfatal opioid overdose-related EMS incidents, similar to the original definition (91.3%) and higher than the CSTE-guided definition (82.2%). The RIDOH-modified CSTE case definition identified 624 additional nonfatal opioid overdoses in EMS data from 2018 through 2022, a 7% increase from the original definition.
Conclusions: The RIDOH-modified CSTE case definition increased RIDOH's ability to detect suspected nonfatal opioid overdoses while maintaining the accuracy of the case definition. With the new case definition, RIDOH aims to improve allocation of resources to communities experiencing increased overdose burden.
期刊介绍:
Public Health Reports is the official journal of the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General and the U.S. Public Health Service and has been published since 1878. It is published bimonthly, plus supplement issues, through an official agreement with the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health. The journal is peer-reviewed and publishes original research and commentaries in the areas of public health practice and methodology, original research, public health law, and public health schools and teaching. Issues contain regular commentaries by the U.S. Surgeon General and executives of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health.
The journal focuses upon such topics as tobacco control, teenage violence, occupational disease and injury, immunization, drug policy, lead screening, health disparities, and many other key and emerging public health issues. In addition to the six regular issues, PHR produces supplemental issues approximately 2-5 times per year which focus on specific topics that are of particular interest to our readership. The journal''s contributors are on the front line of public health and they present their work in a readable and accessible format.