title: Drug Toxicity Deaths after Release from Incarceration in Ontario, 2006-2013: Review of Coroner's Cases.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is an increased risk of death due to drug toxicity after release from incarceration. The purpose of this study was to describe the timing, rate and circumstances of drug toxicity deaths following release from incarceration. This information can be used to help design potential preventive interventions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We reviewed coroner's files to identify deaths in adults in Ontario between 2006 and 2013 caused by drug toxicity (n = 6,978) and these records were matched with provincial correctional records to identify individuals who died within one year of being released from incarceration (n = 702). Twenty percent (n = 137) of the 702 deaths occurred within one week of release. The majority (77%, n = 538) of deaths after release involved one or more opioids. Of the deaths involving opioids, intervention by another person may have been possible in 318 cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Between 2006 and 2013 in Ontario, one in ten drug toxicity deaths in adults occurred within one year of release from provincial incarceration. These findings may help to inform the implemention and assessment of interventions aimed at reducing drug toxicity deaths following release from incarceration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Groot
authors.affiliation: St Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Fiona G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Kouyoumdjian
authors.affiliation: Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.|Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Unviersity of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Lori
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kiefer
authors.affiliation: Centre of Forensic Sciences, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Parvaz
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Madadi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Jeremy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Brittany
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Prevost
authors.affiliation: Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Reuven
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jhirad
authors.affiliation: Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Huyer
authors.affiliation: Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Snowdon
authors.affiliation: Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.|St Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.|University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Navindra
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Persaud
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003334:Coroners and Medical Examiners; D062787:Drug Overdose / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009864:Ontario; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality*; D011329:Prisoners / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011330:Prisons; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012306:Risk; D055815:Young Adult