Opioids were involved in at least 37 overdose deaths in New Brunswick during 2017, according to a new report released by the provincial government.
The report — which was the first to combine data from Ambulance New Brunswick, the chief coroner’s office and the province’s emergency departments — says 33 of the 37 deaths were deemed accidental or haven’t been determined by the province’s coroner.
“I wouldn’t say that we’re in a crisis in this province,” said Dr. Jennifer Russell, the province’s acting chief medical officer of health.
“We’re having these discussions … so that we can be prepared and know what we can do in advance and with the longer-term issues that we can address.”
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Of the 37 deaths, five were determined to be the result of fentanyl, two were caused by furanyl-fentanyl and one was found to be the result of carfentanyl — a drug about 100 times more powerful than fentanyl that’s often used to subdue large animals.
And the government expects the figure for 2017 to continue rising.
“Data for 2017 are incomplete and numbers are expected to increase as coroner investigations continue,” reads the report.
Russell says it’s hard to predict whether there will be any increases in the future but says the province has done a lot of work at improving how it approaches opioids.
The province’s 2017 opioid-related mortality rate is estimated to be 4.4 deaths per 100,000 people, an increase from 3.4 in 2016.
Chris Hood, president of the Paramedic Association of Canada, says the numbers have increased significantly from last year.
“I think this is the tip of the iceberg for what I think we’re going to see in New Brunswick,” he said.
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Naloxone use on the rise
The use of naloxone in the province has also increased, as it has every year since 2012
The province’s report found that naloxone was administered to 282 suspected opioid overdose patients with 152 of them responding to the medication, which is capable of reversing the effects of an overdose within minutes.
Hood says the number of people using naloxone is likely higher because many people have begun to store their own naloxone kits at home.
People are also showing their family members how to administer naloxone, so they don’t have to call 911.
He says more people are using opioids at home and says dispensing naloxone kits and making it more available is a great first step, but that more needs to be done.
“The ability for the naloxone to actually make a difference is going to start to decrease,” Hood said.
“Some of these drugs simply won’t be responsive to naloxone because of the strength of them.”
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The numbers in the report also show that more people are dying after taking illicit opioids rather than opioids prescribed by a doctor, even as the use of opioids continues to trend younger.
Julie Dingwell, executive director of AIDS Saint John, agrees that New Brunswick is currently doing a good job of tackling opioids but says that the province should be looking at prescribed narcotics to keep people safe and off of the more dangerous illicit substances.
“There are some people that that’s what it’s going to take. Maybe we need to look at supervised injection so that people aren’t dying,” Dingwell said.
“There are many clever ways that we can address these issues, they don’t all have to be multi-million-dollar fixes, they can be pretty simple. We just need to be dedicated to saving these lives.”
With files from Adrienne South
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