Marion County Indiana Accidental Drug Overdose Toxicology Results

Abstract

RESEARCH AIMS To accurately record the substances that are found within each overdose fatality that occurs in Marion County, Indiana.

METHODS The toxicology data in this study come from the Marion County Coroner's Office (MCCO) which has jurisdiction over all drug-related overdoses and associated death certificates. Each time there is a new fatal overdose, two researchers independently code the information from these two sources (death certificates and toxicology screening reports) and a senior reviewer conducts ongoing random accuracy checks. Toxicology reports rely on a detection threshold established by the testing agency that registers as positive when a substance exceeds the threshold. A detail listing of substances tested and their detection thresholds can be found in the List_Drugs_screened_and_confirmed_070317 (Indiana State Department of Toxicology) and Labs_TestSummarySheet_8054B_20180507 pdf files. Along with the toxicology information, we collected sociodemographic variables such as age, race/ethnicity, employment, military history, education, marital status, and gender from death certificates. Additional information such as place of death and injury and presence of drug paraphernalia at the crime scene were also recorded.

DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION Toxicology variables are NOT mutually exclusive as multiple drugs and substances can be present in a single overdose case.

Cases in which the overdose event occured outside of Marion County but transferred to a health care facility before death within Marion County were removed (n=125). These are considered transfer cases as the death is officially recorded as a death for Marion County but the overdose event occurring outside of Marion County.