Opioid Crisis: Activating Hope

Data Tells the Story

Drug Overdose

The number of persons presenting with drug overdose is slightly decreasing in 2018. 

Northern Kentucky Fatalities

According to the 2016 KY Overdose Fatality Report Kenton County ranks 3rd in the State of KY for overdose deaths. Campbell County is 4th and Boone is 5th, making three NKY counties among the top five counties in KY experiencing a high number of overdose fatalities. The same is true for fentanyl deaths.

County	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	Total	% of 2016 KY State Total Deaths: 1,404
Boone	34	36	48	62	56	236	17%
Campbell	55	33	45	43	62	238	17%
Kenton	59	65	71	112	90	397	28%

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS)

On average there are 4,430 live births (2015-2018) in St. Elizabeth Birthing Center each year. Of those, an average 191 babies have been opiate exposed during gestation. Opiate exposure does not necessarily mean that the infant will have neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). About 1/2 of the opiate-exposed infants have NAS. The diagnosis of NAS does not mean that the infant is addicted. Rather it means the infant is showing behaviors consistent with withdrawal from opiates and requires some medication for a period of time. The number of babies born in St. Elizabeth birthing center requiring pharmacologic treatment for their withdrawal is showing a slight decrease in 2018. Early entry into prenatal care/SUD treatment (Subutex or Suboxone or Methadone) significantly influences the birth outcome. Our goal is to get as many pregnant women with SUD into recovery-oriented prenatal care as soon as possible. Early induction onto Subutex or Suboxone along with counseling and care coordination decreases the impact of opiate exposure, evidenced by the decreasing length of stay needed in the NICU (from 16 days to 11.3). 

Youth Misuse of Prescription Drugs

Thirty-day use of painkillers (OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin, Codeine without a doctor’s prescription) more than doubled between 2012-2014 from 1.5 to 4.3, but a slight decrease was observed in 2016. Still, 2.7% of 10th graders surveyed reveal they have used a painkiller without a doctor’s prescription in the last 30 days.  They report getting these prescriptions from home medicine cabinets or friends medicine cabinets. Perception of risk for using heroin among 10th graders in the NorthKey region increased from 85.9% to 86.5%. ¹

 1 REACH Evaluation, Kentucky Incentives for Prevention Survey. Retrieved from here.

Facts & Figures for the United States:

• 174: Americans die from drug overdose each day
• 66,817: People died from drug overdose for the 12 months ending with June 2017
• Approximately 2.2 million Americans have a substance use disorder involving prescription pain relievers in 2017.
• Approximately 80% of people who use heroin, first misused prescription opioids.
• 26,500: overdoses reversed by laypeople using naloxone from 1996 - 2014.
• 92,100: children in the foster care system in fiscal year 2016, whose removal from the home was associated with circumstances involving parents' illicit substance use.
• 2.8%: of the United States Gross Domestic Product is associated with the cost of the opioid crisis.
• 20%: of the reduction in the male workforce is attributed to opioid use.

Facts and Figures in Kentucky:

• $6 billion: Estimated amount per year Kentucky is spending on issues related to substance use disorder.
• $80,000: Average lifetime cost for medication to treat patients with hepatitis C
• $600,000: Average cost of a liver transplant
• $120,000: Per episode cost of endocarditis, another infection related to IV drug use