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Article: Unintentional Opiate Overdose Deaths--King County, Washington, 1990-1999.
- Article from:
- MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
- Article date:
- July 21, 2000
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 U.S. Government Printing Office. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Heroin and other opiates are central nervous system depressants; in an opiate overdose, respiration slows, potentially resulting in hypoxia, coma, or death. In 1998, 140 deaths from unintentional opiate overdoses occurred in King County (which includes Seattle). To characterize these deaths, public health staff analyzed medical examiner data during 1990-1999. This report summarizes the results of that analysis, which indicate that the annual number of opiate overdoses increased 134% (from 47 to 110) and the county population increased 11.3% (1998 estimated population: 1.7 million) [1].
Fatal unintentional opiate overdoses were defined as deaths that the King ...