OPIOIDS: US fentanyl overdose deaths total 18,335 in 2016

The number of drug overdose deaths involving the synthetic opioid fentanyl has skyrocketed in the six years covered in this federal government report.  Here are the year-by-year counts:

•   1,663 (2011)
•   1,615 (2012)
•   1,919 (2013)
•   4,223 (2014)
•   8,251 (2015)
• 18,335 (2016)

In the most recent year, 2016, the geographic region with the highest number of fentanyl overdose deaths was the Midwest, followed by the MidAtlantic states.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System. (2019, March 21, rev. April 3). Drug overdose deaths involving fentanyl, 2011-2016. National Vital Statistics Reports, 68(3), 1-18.  Click here for full text:  https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_03-508.pdf  Posted by AHA Resource Center (312) 422-2050, rc@aha.org