Opioid overdose surveillance, Georgia 2020 : Drug Surveillance Unit, Epidemiology Section, Division of Health Protection, Georgia Department of Public Health.

9/19/2022
Opioid Overdose SSuUrBvTeIiTllaL Ence Georgia, 2020
Drug Surveillance Unit Epidemiology Section Division of Health Protection Georgia Department of Public Health

The purpose of this report is to describe fatal (mortality) and nonfatal (morbidity) opioid-involved overdoses, which occurred in Georgia during 2020, including prescription opioids, and illicit opioids such as heroin, fentanyl, and fentanyl analogs. Opioid overdose data were analyzed by the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) Epidemiology Program, Drug Surveillance Unit, using Georgia hospital inpatient discharge data and emergency department (ED) visit data, and DPH Vital Records death data.
Key Findings Opioid-involved overdose deaths sharply increased in Georgia from 2012-2020, driven largely by
increased use and misuse of prescription opioids (e.g., Oxycodone and Hydrocodone). Beginning in 2013, illicit opioids, such as heroin and fentanyl, drove the sharp increase in opioid-involved overdose deaths through 2020.
o From 2012 to 2020, the total number of opioid-involved overdose deaths occurring in Georgia increased by 140%, from 554 deaths in 2012 to 1332 deaths in 2020.
Overdose deaths in all drug categories increased from 2019 to 2020. In 2020, among Georgia residents:
o Any opioid-involved overdoses accounted for 7,954 ED visits, 2,822 hospitalizations, and 1,266 deaths.
o Heroin-involved overdoses accounted for 2,719 ED visits, 535 hospitalizations, and 407 deaths. o Fentanyl-involved overdoses accounted for 813 deaths. o From 2019 to 2020, fentanyl-involved overdoses increased by 107%. o Persons aged 35-44 years died from an opioid-involved overdose more frequently than persons
of other age categories. o Persons aged 35-44 years more frequently died from a heroin- or fentanyl-involved overdose and
visited an ED for an opioid-involved overdose than persons of other age categories, yet older persons aged 55 and older were more frequently hospitalized because of an opioid-involved overdose. o Males aged 25-34 years died from an opioid-involved overdose more frequently than any other age category and were 2.2 times more likely to die from an overdose than females of the same age. o Males were 6.8 times more likely to die from any opioid-involved overdose, and 2.7 times more likely to die from a heroin-involved overdose than females. However, females, particularly those aged 25-34 years, were more frequently hospitalized for an opioid-involved overdose than males. o Whites were 2.4 times more likely to die from an opioid-involved overdose, 2.8 times more likely to visit an ED for any opioid-involved overdose, 5.8 times more likely to visit an ED for a heroininvolved overdose, and 2.5 times more likely to be hospitalized for an opioid-involved overdose than Blacks. o The highest numbers of heroin- and opioid-involved overdose deaths, ED visits, and hospitalizations occurred predominantly among residents in urban areas (Atlanta Metropolitan Area, Augusta, Macon, Columbus, and Savannah). However, high rates of opioid overdoseinvolved ED visits and hospitalizations occurred among residents in both urban and rural areas, particularly in North, South Central, and Southeast Georgia.
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Fatal Drug Overdoses (Mortality), Georgia, 2020
Data Source
Overdose-involved deaths were derived from DPH Vital Records death certificates. The following data include all deaths that occurred in Georgia among Georgia residents and deaths that occurred outside of Georgia among Georgia residents, unless otherwise specified. Case Definitions (Note: categories are not mutually exclusive, includes only drug overdose deaths caused by acute poisoning) Any drug overdose death May involve any over-the-counter, prescription, or illicit drug Deaths with any of the following ICD-10 codes as any underlying cause of death: X40-44, X60-64, X85, Y10-14 Drug overdose death involving any opioid Involves both prescription opioid pain relievers (e.g., hydrocodone, oxycodone, and morphine), opioids used to treat addiction (e.g., methadone), as well as heroin, opium, and synthetic opioids (e.g., tramadol and fentanyl that may be prescription or illicitly manufactured) Deaths with any of the following ICD-10 codes as any underlying cause of death: X40-44, X60-64, X85, Y10-14 AND one of the following: Any of the following ICD-10 codes as any other listed cause of death: T40.0, T40.1, T40.2, T40.3, T40.4, T40.6 Any cause of death text field contains one of the following terms (or common misspelling): heroin, fentanyl (and fentanyl
analogs), methadone, buprenorphine, butalbital, codeine, eddp, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, levorphanol, meperidine, norbuprenorphine, oxycodone, oxymorphone, tapentadol, tramadol
OR (for cases without an X or Y code in the underlying cause of death):
Any cause of death text field contains the word "TOXIC" AND at least one of the following terms (or common misspelling):
heroin, fentanyl (and fentanyl analogs), methadone, buprenorphine, butalbital, codeine, eddp, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, levorphanol, meperidine, norbuprenorphine, oxycodone, oxymorphone, tapentadol, tramadol Drug overdose death involving synthetic opioids other than methadone Involves synthetic opioids other than methadone (e.g., tramadol and fentanyl that may be prescription or illicitly manufactured). Note: polysubstance abuse deaths may also involve methadone or other opioids Deaths with any of the following ICD-10 codes as any underlying cause of death: X40-44, X60-64, X85, Y10-14 AND one of the following: The following ICD-10 code as any other listed cause of death: T40.4 Any cause of death text field contains the following keywords and common misspellings: fentanyl (and fentanyl analogs), tramadol
OR (for cases without an X or Y code in the underlying cause of death):
Any cause of death text field contains the word "TOXIC" AND at least one of the following terms (or common misspelling):
fentanyl (and fentanyl analogs), tramadol Drug overdose death involving heroin Involves heroin. Note: polysubstance abuse deaths may also involve other opioids Deaths with any of the following ICD-10 codes as any underlying cause of death: X40-44, X60-64, X85, Y10-14 AND one of the following: The following ICD-10 code as any other listed cause of death: T40.1 Any cause of death text field contains the following keywords and common misspellings: heroin, morphine OR (for cases without an X or Y code in the underlying cause of death):
Any cause of death text field contains the word "TOXIC" AND at least one of the following terms (or common misspelling):
heroin, morphine Drug overdose death involving fentanyl Note: polysubstance abuse deaths may also involve other opioids Any cause of death text field contains the word "TOXIC" AND at least one of the following terms (or common misspelling): fentanyl (and fentanyl analogs)
Other Definitions or Limitations
Deaths represent individual people who died in Georgia and deaths among Georgia residents outside of Georgia. Overdose death county represents the county of residence, or the place of injury (where the overdose occurred) as specified; when the place of injury field or the county of residence field was blank the county of the death certifier was used.
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Rate indicates the number of deaths among Georgia residents per 100,000 population using 2020 Census data as the denominator, and all rates are age- adjusted unless age category is presented. Rates for categories with fewer than 5 deaths may not be accurate and are not presented in this report.
ICD-10 Code Description
X40-X44 (accidental poisonings by drugs), X60-X64 (intentional self-poisoning by drugs), X85 (assault by drug poisoning), Y10-Y14 (drug poisoning of undetermined intent), T40.0 (opium), T40.1 (heroin), T40.2 (natural and semisynthetic opioids), T40.3 (methadone), T40.4 (synthetic opioids, other than methadone, T40.6 (other and unspecified narcotics)
Nonfatal Overdoses (Morbidity), Georgia, 2020
Data Source
Nonfatal overdose counts were derived from Georgia hospitalization and emergency department (ED) visit discharge data, and included all ED visits or hospitalizations occurring in a non-Federal acute care hospital in Georgia, among Georgia residents, with a discharge diagnosis indicating acute drug overdose during 2018.
Case Definitions (categories are not mutually exclusive)
ED visit or hospitalization involving any drug overdose May include any over-the-counter, prescription, or illicit drug Any mention of ICD-10CM codes: T36-T50 AND
6th character: 1-4, and a 7th character of A or missing
ED visit or hospitalization involving any opioid overdose Includes prescription opioid pain relievers (e.g., hydrocodone, oxycodone, and morphine), opioids used to treat addiction (e.g., methadone), as well as heroin, opium, and synthetic opioids (e.g., tramadol and fentanyl that may be prescription or illicitlymanufactured) Any mention of ICD-10CM codes: T40.0X, T40.1X, T40.2X, T40.3X, T40.4X, T40.60, T40.69 AND
6th character: 1-4, and a 7th character of A or missing
ED visit or hospitalization involving a heroin overdose Any mention of ICD-10CM code: T40.1X AND
6th character: 1-4, and a 7th character of A or missing
Other Definitions or Limitations
Please Note: The case definition has changed and cannot be compared to previous reports. Any opioid may include prescription or illicit opioids. ED Visits and Hospitalization categories are not mutually exclusive. Hospitalizations may also appear in the ED Visits category if they were admitted to the hospital through the ED. ED visits and hospitalizations may represent multiple visits by individuals in Georgia. County indicates the patient's county of residence. Only Black and White are indicated for race because of incomplete or sparse data on other races and ethnicities. Rate indicates the number of ED visits or hospitalizations among Georgia residents per 100,000 population using 2020 Census data as the denominator, and all rates are age-adjusted unless age category is presented. Rates for categories with fewer than 5 ED visits or hospitalizations may not be accurate and are not presented in this report.
ICD-10 CM Code Description
Poisoning by: T36-T50 (range includes all drugs), T40.0X (opium), T40.1X (heroin), T40.2X (other opioids), T40.3X (methadone), T40.4X (synthetic narcotics), T40.60 (unspecified narcotics), T40.69 (other narcotics) 6th Character: 1 (accidental, unintentional), 2 (intentional self-harm), 3 (assault), 4 (undetermined intent) 7th Character: A (initial encounter) or missing
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For more information: County level data and other Georgia drug surveillance reports:
https://dph.georgia.gov/drug-surveillance-unit Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) Main Opioid Page: https://dph.georgia.gov/stopopioidaddiction Georgia drug overdose mortality interactive maps and statistics:
https://oasis.state.ga.us/PageDirect.aspx?referer=MortalityDrugOverdoses Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) information: GA PDMP Overview and FAQs
https://dph.georgia.gov/pdmp
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Drug-Involved Overdose Deaths (Mortality)

Note: Any opioid may include prescription or illicit opioids. Categories are not mutually exclusive. Overdoseinvolved deaths were derived from DPH Vital Records death certificates. Fentanyl is included in the synthetic opioid category. The following data include deaths that occurred in Georgia regardless of the patient's residence state.

No. deaths

Drug-Involved Overdose Deaths Occurring in Georgia, by Drug Type, 2012-2020

1400 1200 1000
800 600 400 200
0

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Any Opioid Synthetic Opioids Heroin Fentanyl

From 2012 to 2020, the number of opioid-involved overdose deaths increased by 140%, from 554 to 1332 deaths.
Beginning in 2013, illicit opioids, such as heroin and fentanyl, drove the sharp increase in opioid-involved overdose deaths through 2020.
From 2019 to 2020, the number of fentanyl-involved overdose deaths increased by 103%. All drug overdose death categories increased from 2019 to 2020.

No. deaths

Quarterly Drug-Involved Overdose Deaths Occurring in Georgia,

by Drug Type, 2017-2020
400

350

Any Opioid

300

Heroin 250

200

Fentanyl

150

100

50

0 2017 2017 2017 2017 2018 2018 2018 2018 2019 2019 2019 2019 2020 2020 2020 2020 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Opioid-involved overdose deaths increased during 2020 Q1 to 2020 Q2, then trended downward.

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Note: The following data include all deaths that occurred in Georgia among Georgia residents and deaths that occurred outside of Georgia among Georgia residents, unless otherwise specified. Fentanyl is included in the synthetic opioid category.

Drug-Involved Overdose Deaths, by Drug Type, Georgia Residents, 2018-2020

2000 1500

1880 1507 1493

2018 2019 2020 1266

1000 500

910 904

916 449 496

314 323 407

813 327 392

0 All Drugs

Any Opioid

Synthetic Opioids

Heroin

Fentanyl

No. deaths

From 2019 to 2020, all drug overdose death categories increased: All drugs by 26%, any opioid by 40%, synthetic opioids by 85%, heroin by 26% and fentanyl by 107%.

Drug-Involved Overdose Death Rates, by Age and Drug Type, Georgia Residents, 2020

Deaths/ 100,000 pop.

30.0 25.0 20.0 15.0 10.0
5.0 0.0
Overall <1

Any Opioid Heroin Fentanyl
1-4 5-14 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75-84 85+ Age Category (years)

Persons aged 35-44 years died from an opioid-involved overdose more frequently than persons of other age categories.
Persons aged 35-44 years died from a heroin- or fentanyl-involved overdose more frequently than persons of other age categories.

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Deaths/ 100,000 pop.

Drug-Involved Overdose Death Rates, by Race and Drug Type,

20.0

18.4

Georgia Residents, 2020

White Black 15.0
11.6

10.0

7.8

5.0

5.7

6.6

2.0

0.0 Any Opioid

Fentanyl Race

Heroin

Whites were 2.4 times more likely to die from an opioid-involved overdose than Blacks.

Deaths/ 100,000 pop

Quarterly Opioid-Involved Overdose Death Rates, by Race, Georgia Residents, 2018-2020

6.0

5.3

5.0

4.8

4.6

4.0

3.7

3.4

3.4

3.5

3.1

3.1

3.1

3.3

3.7

3.0

2.5

2.3

2.0

1.0

0.9

0.9

1.2

1.4

1.5

1.2

1.4

1.5

1.4

1.0

0.0 2018 2018 2018 2018 2019 2019 2019 2019 2020 2020 2020 2020 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

White Black

Opioid-involved overdose death rates among Whites and Blacks trended increased during 2020 Q1 to Q2 and trended downward in 2020 Q2.

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Deaths/ 100,000 pop.

Drug-Involved Overdose Death Rates, by Sex, Georgia Residents, 2020

18.0

16.3

16.0

14.0

12.0

10.0

8.3

8.0

6.0

4.0

2.0

0.0 Any Opioid

11.4
4.7
Fentanyl Sex

Male Female
6.0 2.2
Heroin

Males were 6.8 times more likely to die from any opioid-involved overdose than females, and 2.7 times more likely to die from a heroin-involved overdose than females.

Deaths/ 100,000 pop.

Opioid-Involved Overdose Death Rates, by Age and Sex, Georgia Residents, 2020

40.0 35.0 30.0 25.0 20.0 15.0 10.0
5.0 0.0
Overall <1

Male

Female

Age Category (years)

1-4

5-14 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75-84 85+

Males aged 35-44 years died from an opioid-involved overdose more frequently than persons of any other age category and were 2.2 times more likely to die from an overdose than females of the same age.

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Deaths/ 100,000 pop

Quarterly Opioid-Involved Overdose Death Rates, by Sex and Drug Type, Georgia Residents, 2018-2020

6.0 5.1

5.0

4.2 4.1

4.0

3.0

2.9

2.7

2.7

3.1

2.9

3.1

2.7

3.1

2.9

2.3

2.4

2.0

1.7

1.4

1.6

1.4

1.4

1.4

1.4

1.4

1.8

1.8

1.0

0.0 2018 2018 2018 2018 2019 2019 2019 2019 2020 2020 2020 2020 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Males Females

Opioid-involved overdose death rates among males increased from 2020 Q1 to 2020 Q2 then trended downward from 2020 Q2 to 2020 Q4.
Opioid-involved overdose deaths rates among females trended upward from 2019 Q4 to 2020 Q3 then downward from 2020 Q3 to 2020 Q4.

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Opioid-Involved Overdose Emergency Department Visits and Hospitalizations (Morbidity)
Note: This case definition has changed and cannot be compared to previously published reports. Any opioid may include prescription or illicit opioids. ED visits and hospitalization categories are not mutually exclusive. Hospitalizations may also appear in the ED visits category if they were admitted to the hospital through the ED.
Note: The following data include all ED visits and hospitalizations that occurred in Georgia among Georgia residents.

No. of visits or hospitalizations

Opioid-Involved Overdose Emergency Department (ED) Visits and Hospitalizations, by Drug Type, Georgia Residents, 2018-2020

9000 8000 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000
0

4985 1353
ED Visits 2018

4876 1420
ED Visits 2019

7954

Any Opioid Heroin

2719

2353 325

2176 339

2822 535

ED Visits 2020 Hospitalizations Hospitalizations Hospitalizations

2018

2019

2020

From 2019 to 2020, ED visits for opioid- and heroin-involved overdoses increased by 63% and 92% respectively. Hospitalizations for opioid- and heroin-involved overdoses decreased by 30% and 58% respectively.

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ED visits/ 100,000 pop

Quarterly Opioid-Involved Overdose Emergency Department (ED) Visit Rates, by Drug Type, Georgia Residents, 2018-2020

25.0 20.9 20.5

20.0

17.8

16.0

15.0

11.9 11.7 11.3 10.7

9.9

11.3 12.1 11.6

10.0

8.0 6.7 6.7

5.3

5.0 3.5

3.3

3.5

2.8

2.8

3.4

3.9

3.8

0.0 2018 2018 2018 2018 2019 2019 2019 2019 2020 2020 2020 2020 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Any Opioid Heroin

Opioid-involved overdose ED visit rates increased from 2019 Q4 to 2020 Q2 then trended downward. Heroin-involved overdose ED visit rates trended slightly upward from 2019 Q4 to 2020 Q2 then trended
downward.

ED visits/ 100,000 pop. Total
<1 1-4 5-14 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75-84 85+
Hospitalizations/ 100,000 pop.

Opioid-Involved Overdose ED Visit Rates, by Age and Drug Type, Georgia Residents, 2020

200.0 150.0 100.0
50.0 0.0

Any Opioid Heroin

Opioid-Involved Overdose Hospitalization Rates by Age and Drug
Type, Georgia Residents, 2020

60.0

50.0

Any Opioid Heroin

40.0

30.0

20.0

10.0

0.0

Age Category (years)

Age Category (years)

Persons aged 25-34 years were more likely to visit an ED because of an opioid-involved overdose than persons of other age categories, yet persons aged 55 and older were more frequently hospitalized because of an opioid-involved overdose.
Heroin-involved overdoses occurred most frequently among persons aged 25-34 years and were less common among younger and older persons.

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Visits or hospitalizations / 100,000 pop.

Opioid-Invovled Overdose Emergency Department Visit and Hospitalization Rates, by Race and Drug Type, Georgia Residents,
2020

120.0 100.0
80.0 60.0 40.0 20.0
0.0

112.1 40.3
Any Opioid ED Visit

White Black

46.2 8.0
Heroin ED Visit

35.6 14.1

8.8 1.9

Any Opioid Hospitalization Heroin Hospitalization

Whites were 2.8 times more likely to visit an ED for any opioid-involved overdose, 5.8 times more likely to visit an ED for a heroin-involved overdose, and 2.5 times more likely to be hospitalized for an opioidinvolved overdose than Blacks.

ED visits/ 100,000 pop

Quarterly Opioid-Invovled Overdose Emergency Department (ED) Visit Rates, by Race, Georgia Residents, 2018-2020

35.0

32.3

29.7

30.0

26.8

23.3 25.0

20.0 17.2 16.6 16.4 14.9 13.7 15.3 16.9 16.5

15.0

10.0

6.8

6.6

6.1

6.9

6.7

7.8

7.6

6.8

9.0

12.1

9.9

9.3

5.0

0.0 2018 2018 2018 2018 2019 2019 2019 2019 2020 2020 2020 2020 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

White Blacks

Opioid-involved ED visit rates among Whites trended upward from 2019 Q4 to 2020 Q2, and then downward.
Opioid-involved ED visit rates among Blacks trended upward from 2019 Q4 to 2020 Q3, and then downward.

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ED visits/ 100,000 pop. Total
<1 1-4 5-14 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75-84 85+ Hospitalizations/ 100,000 pop.

Opioid-Involved Overdose ED Visit Rates, by Age and Sex, Georgia Residents, 2020

250.0 200.0 150.0 100.0
50.0 0.0

Male Female

Opioid-Involved Overdose Hospitalization Rates by Age and Sex,
Georgia Residents, 2020
Male Female
60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0
0.0

Age Category (years)

Age Category (years)

Males aged 25-34 years visited an ED and/or died from an opioid-involved overdose more frequently than females of the same age category.
Females, particularly those aged 25-34 years, more frequently visited an ED, Females aged 55 and up were more frequently hospitalized for an opioid-involved overdose than any
age categories

ED visits/ 100,000 pop

Quarterly Opioid-Involved Overdose Emergency Department (ED) Visit Rates, by Sex, Georgia Residents, 2018-2020

30.0 25.0 20.0 15.0 10.0
5.0 0.0
2018 2018 2018 2018 2019 2019 2019 2019 2020 2020 2020 2020 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Males Females

Opioid-involved ED visit rates among males trended upward from 2019 Q4 to 2020 Q2 then trended downwards.
Opioid-involved ED visit rates among females trended upwards from 2019 Q4, then trended downwards in 2020 Q3.

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NOTE: Rates could not be calculated for most counties due to the low number of heroin-involved overdose deaths, ED visits and hospitalizations. Therefore, the number (not rate) of overdoses are presented in this map
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NOTE: Rates could not be calculated for some counties due to the low number of heroin-involved overdose deaths, ED visits and hospitalizations. Therefore, the number (not rate) of overdoses are presented in this map.
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Opioid-Involved Overdose Emergency Department Visits and Hospitalizations,

by Drug Type, Georgia, 2020

Any opioid may include prescription and/or illicit opioids; categories are not mutually exclusive

Number represents events that occurred

Number represents events that

in Georgia regardless of the patient's

occurred in Georgia among Georgia

residence state

residents

Drug Category

No.

No.

Any Opioid ED Visits

8629

7954

Any Opioid Hospitalizations

3017

2822

Heroin ED Visits

2952

2719

Heroin Hospitalizations

583

535

Counties with the Highest Number or Rate of Any Opioid-Involved Overdose Deaths, Emergency

Department (ED) Visits and Inpatient Hospitalizations -- Georgia, 2020

Number, and age-adjusted rate per 100,000 population. Note: rates could not be calculated for some counties due to the low number of any opioid-involved overdose ED visits, hospitalizations, and deaths, only counties with >15 were included in the
top 10 rate ranking

Rank

No. deaths County of residence

No. deaths County of injury

Death rate County of residence

No. ED visits and hospitalizations County of residence

ED visit and hospitalization rate County of residence

1

Fulton (132)

Fulton (158)

Clay (34.9)

Fulton (563)

Bartow (200.1)

2

Cobb (117)

Cobb (131)

Talbot (32.5)

Cobb (509)

Brantley (192.7)

3

Gwinnett (95)

DeKalb (90)

Ware (30.7)

Gwinnett (418)

Oglethorpe (182.0)

4

DeKalb (80)

Gwinnett (87)

Randolph (29.9)

Chatham (330)

Ware (167.5)

5

Richmond (47)

Richmond (47)

Haralson (26.3)

Richmond (303)

McIntosh (166.8)

6

Cherokee (44)

Cherokee (39)

Banks (25.8)

Dekalb (302)

Pierce (158.8)

7

Chatham (39)

Clayton (38)

Gilmer (25.0)

Hall (242)

Habersham (158.5)

8

Hall (31)

Carroll (30)

Dade (24.9)

Bartow (219)

Glynn (157.8)

9

Paulding (28)

Hall (28)

Seminole (24.8)

Cherokee (214)

Carroll (156.2)

10

Carroll (27)

Chatham (25)

Dodge (24.4)

Carroll (190)

Lee (155.5)

OPIOID OVERDOSE SURVEILLANCE REPORT | 2 23

Note: The following data include deaths that occurred in Georgia regardless of the patient's residence state.

Drug Overdose Deaths (Mortality) -- Georgia, 20122020

Any opioid may include prescription and/or and illicit opioids; categories are not

mutually exclusive. Number represents events that occurred in Georgia regardless of the

patient's residence state

Any Drug

Any Opioid

Synthetic Opioids

Heroin

Fentanyl

Year

No.

No.

No.

No.

No.

2020

1880

1266

916

407

813

2019

1493

904

496

323

392

2018

1507

910

449

314

327

2017

1591

1051

506

284

381

2016

1436

954

399

228

245

2015

1364

901

411

252

255

2014

1041

637

164

236

138

2013

1113

556

82

131

52

2012

1066

554

65

106

48

Drug Overdose Emergency Department (ED) Visits and Hospitalizations

(Morbidity) -- Georgia Residents, 2018-2020

Number, and age-adjusted rate per 100,000 population. Any opioid may include prescription and/or illicit opioids; categories are not mutually exclusive

Any Opioid

Heroin

ED Visits

Hospitalizations

ED Visits

Hospitalizations

Year

No.

Rate

No.

Rate

No.

Rate

No.

Rate

2020

7954

75.2

2822

25.4

2719

26.7

535

5.2

2019

4876

45.0

2176

19.2

1420

13.9

339

3.3

2018

4985

45.6

2353

20.7

1353

13.1

325

3.2

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Opioid Related Overdose Morbidity and Mortality -- Georgia

Residents, 2020

(emergency department (ED) visits, inpatient hospitalizations, and

deaths)

Number and rate per 100,000 population (rate is age-adjusted except when age categories are presented). Any opioid may include prescription and/or illicit opioids;
categories are not mutually exclusive

Any Opioid

ED Visits

Hospitalizations

Deaths

No.

Rate

No.

Rate

No.

Rate

Total

7954

75.2

Age group

(yrs)

<1 year

17

13.3

2822 4

25.4

1266

12.2

N/A

0

N/A

1-4 years

61

11.5

15

N/A

0

N/A

5 -14 years

20

N/A

7

N/A

2

N/A

15-24 years

857

59.5

187

13.0

109

7.6

25-34 years

2312

157.3

488

33.2

323

22.0

35-44 years

1628

118.7

413

30.1

365

26.6

45-54 years

1067

75.6

436

30.9

230

16.3

55-64 years

1059

82.4

621

48.3

176

13.7

65-74 years

623

69.6

429

48.0

54

6.0

75-84 years

233

55.7

181

43.3

6

N/A

85+ years

77

55.2

41

Sex (age group)

Male

30.0

1

N/A

<1 year

13

20.0

3

N/A

0

N/A

1-4 years

33

12.1

9

N/A

0

N/A

5-14 years

9

N/A

4

N/A

1

N/A

15-24 years

535

73.0

130

17.7

77

10.5

25-34 years

1536

210.5

307

42.1

228

31.2

35-44 years

1034

156.4

241

36.5

246

37.2

45-54 years

543

79.2

193

28.2

133

19.4

55-64 years

486

79.6

236

38.6

97

15.9

65-74 years

272

66.8

167

41.0

32

7.9

75-84 years

80

44.7

66

36.8

2

N/A

85+ years

28

56.1

13

26.1

0

0.0

Female

OPIOID OVERDOSE SURVEILLANCE | 25

<1 year 1-4 years 5-14 years 15-24 years 25-34 years 35-44 years 45-54 years 55-64 years 65-74 years 75-84 years 85+ years Race
White
Black

4 26 11 322 775 594 524 573 350 153 43
6188
1370

6.4 10.0 N/A 45.5 104.6 83.7 72.2 85.0 71.9 64.0 44.4
112.1
40.3

1 4 3 57 181 172 243 385 262 115 27
2219
469

N/A

0

N/A

N/A

0

N/A

N/A

1

N/A

8.0

32

N/A

24.4

95

12.8

24.2

119

16.8

33.5

97

13.4

57.1

79

11.7

53.8

22

N/A

48.1

4

N/A

27.9

1

N/A

35.6

976

18.4

14.1

266

7.8

OPIOID OVERDOSE SURVEILLANCE | 26

Opioid Overdose Surveillance and Response Information/Resources
To report an increase in overdoses, a potential overdose cluster, or any other unusual drug-related event, call the Georgia Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222.
Please see https://dph.georgia.gov/stopopioidaddiction for more information on how the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) is working to combat the opioid epidemic, including:
Opioid and substance misuse response: https://dph.georgia.gov/georgias-opioidresponse
Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP): https://dph.georgia.gov/pdmp Drug Surveillance Unit: https://dph.georgia.gov/drug-surveillance-unit
Please see https://dph.georgia.gov/opioid-epidemic-individuals-and-families for information on the opioid epidemic for individuals and families, including:
Addiction prevention Drug take-back Signs of an overdose and steps to take Naloxone information Georgia's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) Georgia's Medical Amnesty Law Harm reduction Neo-natal abstinence syndrome Treatment resources
Please see https://dph.georgia.gov/opioid-epidemic-medical-providers-and-pharmacists for information on the opioid epidemic for medical providers and pharmacists, including:
Steps providers can take to help prevent opioid misuse and addiction in their patients Prescribing guidelines Georgia's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) Georgia's Naloxone Standing Order Georgia's Medical Amnesty Law
OPIOID OVERDOSE SURVEILLANCE | 27

Please see https://dph.georgia.gov/opioid-epidemic-first-responders-and-ems for information on the opioid epidemic for Law Enforcement and EMS, including:
Georgia's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) Responder safety Georgia's Medical Amnesty Law Georgia's Naloxone Standing Order Naloxone administration Case documentation guidelines
Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH), Epidemiology Section, Drug Surveillance Unit
https://dph.georgia.gov/drug-surveillance-unit
OPIOID OVERDOSE SURVEILLANCE | 28