County coroner’s office sees dramatic increase in drug overdose deaths

The number of drug overdoses in Chester County continues to rise.

There were 141 drug overdoses last year, up from 106 in 2016, according to the latest numbers from the Chester County Coroner’s Office. Last year, 133 deaths were determined to be accidental and eight due to suicide. This represents a 35.7 increase in acci-

dental drug overdoses compared to 2016.

“As prescription opioid prescribing comes under control and unused prescription drugs are removed from circulation through medication collection programs, those who had become addicted to them often turned to heroin,” said Dr. Christina VandePol, the county’s new coroner. “Heroin is now being replaced or mixed with much more potent drugs like fentanyl, resulting in overdose and death due to respiratory depression. Besides continuing our prevention efforts and naloxone rescues, what we need now is an increased emphasis on medication-assisted treatment. Along with that, we need non-narcotic alternatives to opioids for management of chronic pain and postsurgical pain.”

The data was compiled by the coroner’s office while it was still headed by Dr. Gordon Eck. Eck was defeated in the last election by VandePol.

Analysis of the county data shows that there was little change with regard to the gender and race of those dying of overdoses; the affected population remains predominantly male and white. There has been, however, an age shift towards younger victims. This was due largely to a greater proportion of deaths in those aged 25 to 34 in 2017 (34.8 percent) than in 2016 (26.5 percent), VandePol said. Deaths in 18 to 24 yearolds showed a slight increase, from 10.4 percent to 11.3 percent.

Toxicological testing performed as part of the coroner’s office death investigations showed a dramatic jump in illicit synthetic opioids, particularly fentanyl, in 2017. Fentanyl was present in almost 72 percent of deaths in 2017 compared with 43 percent in 2016, VandePol said.

Pennsylvania was recently identified as one of a handful of states with a dramatic increase in overdose deaths in recent years. This increase is attributed largely to the surge in fentanyl availability here compared to some other states.

The coroner’s office recently received a $10,000 state grant to support enhanced toxicological testing and expedited reporting of opioid overdose deaths. This grant is part of a national Center for Disease Control program which recognizes that coroners’ and medical examiners’ offices nationwide are the primary source of drug overdose data.

But scope of the epidemic has stretched the resources of many of these offices, VandePol said. The staff, budget, and resources of her office have remained level in the face of a nearly 80 percent increase in the number of accidental drug overdoses from 2015 to 2017. The grant funds will be a big help in defraying ever-increasing toxicological test costs for drugs of abuse.

“The staff of the Coroner’s Office remains committed to honoring the victims and families affected by this epidemic by thoroughly investigating overdose deaths,” VandePol said. “It is also our responsibility to communicate that information in a timely fashion so that Chester County and the broader public health community have accurate and current data to guide existing and future policies and programs to mitigate this ongoing crisis.”

All available 2017 drug overdose fatalities and associate demographic and toxicology data have now been reported to overdosefreepa.com and can be viewed at that site.