Are you or someone you know at risk for opioid overdose?

Learning some of the precursors to cases classified as 'high-risk for opioid overdose' can help increase awareness of and prevent a potentially life-threatening occurrence.

Preventing overdose allows people to continue their progress towards recovery and may enable them to seek out other life-saving alternatives.  

Any long term use of opioids can lead to a risk of overdose, including that of managing chronic cancer or non-cancer pain. Other risk factors include:

• Receiving rotating opioid medication regimens (thus at risk for incomplete cross-tolerance).

• Discharged from emergency and medical care following opioid intoxication or poisoning.

• At high risk for overdose because of a legitimate medical need for analgesia, coupled with a suspected or confirmed history of substance abuse, dependence, or non-medical use of prescription or illicit opioids.

• Completing mandatory opioid detoxification or abstinent for a period of time (and presumably with reduced opioid tolerance and high risk of relapse to opioid use).

• Recently released from incarceration and a past user or abuser of opioids (and presumably with reduced opioid tolerance and high risk of relapse to opioid use).