Prescription opioid related XXXX in New York City: a 2  year retrospective analysis prior to the introduction of the New York State I-STOP law.

@entity1288 @entity4784 @entity1245 @entity1401 @entity284 @entity158 @entity204 @entity734
UNASSIGNED: The United States is in the midst of an unprecedented @entity734 . Illicit use of prescription medicine, predominantly opioids, has become one of the nation's fastest-growing drug problems. We have conducted a retrospective review of prescription opioid fatalities in New York City (NYC) prior to the introduction of a 2013 law intended to curtail prescription drug abuse. Over the 2  years of our study, there were 1286 chemical intoxication fatalities in NYC. Of these, 547 (42.5  %) were associated with prescription opioids (6.5/100,000 population). @entity284 was most frequently encountered followed by @entity1288 . Only 36.7  % of decedents had a valid opioid prescription. Of non-opioid medications associated with the prescription opiate @entity204 , @entity1245 were the most frequently encountered (68.4  %), and @entity1401 (35.1  %) was most common. Though prescribers have no control over drug diversion they should be cognizant of the urgent public health concern regarding prescription @entity4784 and associated fatalities and attempt to identify doctor shoppers and limit prescription of these potent drugs to those with a legitimate need for @entity158 control. They also need to be aware of the high incidence of fatalities due to combined opioid and @entity1245 use/abuse and refrain from prescribing them in tandem.
