title: Notes from the field: increase in fentanyl-related overdose deaths - Rhode Island, November 2013-March 2014.
abstract: During November 2013-March 2014, twice as many all-intent drug overdose deaths were reported in Rhode Island as were reported during the same period in previous years. Most deaths were among injection-drug users, and a large percentage involved fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 50-100 times more potent than morphine. Clusters of fentanyl-related deaths have been reported recently in several states. From April 2005 to March 2007, time-limited active surveillance from CDC and the Drug Enforcement Administration identified 1,013 deaths caused by illicit fentanyl use in New Jersey; Maryland; Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Acetyl fentanyl, an illegally produced fentanyl analog, caused a cluster of overdose deaths in northern Rhode Island in 2013.
authors.forename: Melissa C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Mercado-Crespo
authors.forename: Steven A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Sumner
authors.forename: M Bridget
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Spelke
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Sugerman
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stanley
mesh_terms: D002423:Cause of Death / Q000639:trends; D002487:Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.; D062787:Drug Overdose / Q000401:mortality*; D005283:Fentanyl / Q000506:poisoning*; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000506:poisoning; D012237:Rhode Island / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D013287:Illicit Drugs; D005283:Fentanyl