CT Sees Staggering Number Of Overdose Cases In 2018

HARTFORD, CT — There were 3,090 hospital visits for suspected fatal and non-fatal drug overdoses during the first four months of 2018, according to the state Department of Public Health.

“The real-time nature of the data will allow us to respond more quickly to changes in patterns of nonfatal and fatal opioid overdoses and to design, target, implement and monitor more effective interventions to break the cycle of overdose and death and curtail opioid addiction in Connecticut,”said DPH Commissioner Dr. Raul Pino.

The data comes from a relatively new system of collecting data closer to real-time. DPH received funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There were an average of 180 suspected overdoses per week during January through April.

Connecticut saw more than 1,000 overdose deaths in 2017, a grim milestone for the Nutmeg State. There has been almost a 300 percent increase in overdose deaths in the past five years.

The data collection system dubbed EpiCenter provides near real-time estimates for suspected drug overdoses and allows DPH and other agencies to better respond to changing overdose trends, Pino said.

Powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl was involved in 675 fatal cases in 2017 compared to 483 in 2016.

Below is the county-by county breakdown during the four-month period:

• Hartford County 1,021 suspected cases
• New Haven County: 907
• Fairfield County: 416
• New London County: 178
• Middlesex County: 176
• Tolland County: 150
• Litchfield County: 129
• Windham County: 113

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