This retrospective statewide cohort study, using ED, hospital discharge and death records, included 2,356 patients discharged after stimulant toxicity. One-year all-cause mortality by Kaplan-Meier analysis was 2.1% (95% CI 1.6-2.8%). Those who died had a median age of 35 and a median time to death of 118 days. Overdose caused 67% of deaths; opioids were implicated in 54% and opioids with stimulants in 37%. A reference cohort of 1,665 opioid toxicity visits had one-year mortality of 6.9%. The abstract states no limitations; the cohort covers one state and only patients discharged from the ED.
Why it is interesting: Relatively young adults discharged after stimulant toxicity died at a measurable rate within a year, mostly from overdose. Opioids featured in over half of these deaths, linking stimulant and opioid harms in mortality data.
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