May 12, 2022
Opioid/Substance Use Disorders
  • Provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that drug overdoses in the U.S. were deadlier than ever in 2021. Nearly 108,000 people died of drug overdoses last year, with approximately two-thirds of those deaths involving fentanyl or another synthetic opioid. Overdose deaths have been on the rise for years in the U.S. but surged amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A new analysis in JAMA Network indicates that roughly half of patients with opioid use disorder were not prescribed buprenorphine, despite buprenorphine’s association with protecting against future overdose.(Articles here, here, here, and here; Analysis here)