Coroner: 97 deaths from drug overdoses
Most of the 2016 fatalities were result of heroin or opioid use
The list looks endless, although it runs only for three spreadsheet pages.
The Chester County Coroner’s Office issued a cataloging of the accidental drug overdose deaths it investigated in 2016, a vast majority of them coming with the involvement of fentanyl, heroin, or opioids. The lists shows 97 separate incidents, involving men and women in a wide crosssection of geographical areas across the county.
The oldest victim was a 91-year-old woman from Upper Oxford, who died from complications of an overdose of acetaminophen on Jan. 11; the youngest was an 18-year-old woman from Spring City who died on March 15 of acute fentanyl toxicity.
But the list seemingly covers all bases. A 51-yearold man who died Feb. 2 in Willistown of multiple drug intoxication, with heroin in his bloodstream; a West Whiteland death on March 13 of a 24-year-old man, again with fentanyl in his system; a day later on March 14, a 31-year-old woman died in Tredyffrin of multiple drug toxicity, with opioids and fentanyl in her blood.
There were 10 deaths in Coatesville, five in Tredyffrin, and six in Spring City. The deaths came in bunches in March — with 16 — and December — with 15, and drips in January and June, with two each. About 38 percent of those who died of accidental overdoses were between the ages of 21 and 35, with 68 males and 29 females. All but seven of the victims were Caucasian.
The list takes into account causes of death such as acute multiple drug intoxication, heroin and ethanol intoxication, acute morphine toxicity, and oxycodone toxicity — the exact definitions differing from those who certified the case. And while no definitive conclusions can be reached fromthe figures as to whether the opioid addiction problem is on the rise in the county in terms of how many lives it claims, it is apparent that the 63 deaths from opioid overdoes recorded in the county by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in 2015 are not an aberration.
According to the county, the report prepared by the Coroner’s Office includes information on all overdose deaths, including those who do not test positive for fentanyl, heroin or opioids, and also includes suicides.
The county Drug Over- dose Task Force – which brings together the commissioners’ office, the District Attorney’s office, the Health Department and the Department of Drug and Alcohol Services, along with other partners – has set up a system to review the coroner’s reports thoroughly and undertake research into the specific cause of death in each case, the county’s statement read. This helps to gain a better understanding of the actual number of deaths that relate directly to heroin and opioid overdoses.
In addition, the Drug Overdose Task Force works with hospitals and first responders to determine the number of overdose “saves” that have resulted from the use of Narcan/Naloxone. Both reports combined – the “filtered” accidental overdose drug death report and the report of overdose “saves” in the county — help to provide the task force with a more accurate picture of the status of the opioid and heroin crisis in the county, according to the statement.
Commissioners’ Chairwoman Michelle Kichline has taken a central role in the task force and in highlighting the opioid problem in the county. She was asked what struck her about the coroner’s list.
“It’s unfortunate, but what the coroner’s report — and the Drug Overdose Task Force research confirms— is that the overdose deaths are occurring across the county and in more than half of the county’s municipalities,” she said. “North and south, fromNorth Coventry to Elk Township, east and west from Tredyffrin to West Caln. The deaths range in age from 18 to over 70 years old and prescription medications are still a clear issue.
“As we know, and as families across the county have shared with me, this epidemic does not discriminate; all ages, all demographics and all geographic areas are affected,” Kichline said.
First Assistant District Attorney Michael Noone, a member of the task force, echoed Kichline’s comments.
“The heroin and opioid epidemic devastates lives regardless of age, gender, race, geography, or personal income,” he said. “It is an equal-opportunity killer. We are working hard in Chester County to fight this battle. It is a team approach to help addicts with recovery, prosecute drug dealers, reduce the supply of dangerous drugs, and educate people about the dangers.
“We will only be successful if we work together to keep our communities safe and healthy,” he said.
The intricacies of how each of the accidental overdoes occur may be complex, but the physiology is relatively simple, explained Dr, Diana Kane, the chairwoman of the emer- gency department at Chester County Hospital and a member of the overdose task force.
The drugs involved cause hypoventilation, or respiratory depression, said Kane, “to the point where people stop breathing. The heart then fails, and it is difficult to resuscitate them.”
She notes that many of those who become dependent on prescription opioids like Percocet of Oxycodone switch to using heroin at some point because it remains less expensive than the pills. “Any narcotic prescription is a slippery slope” to heroin, she said, which is cheap and unregulated. But regardless of whether it is smoked or snorted, eaten or ingested, too much of the drug will overwhelm the user’s system and send theminto respiratory arrest — especially when that heroin is laced with the stronger narcotic fentanyl.
There is success in reviving — saving, one might say — people who have suffered overdoes, Kane said. First comes if the victim is attended to early enough by emergency responders. Most police, ambulance, and EMT personnel in the county are now equipped with Narcan, the nasal spray that helps revive those suffering from opioid overdose. They can then be transported to a hospital emergency roomwhere further resuscitation steps are taken in the form of intensive CPR.
“We have a fairly good resuscitation rate,” she said. “It depends upon the length of time the person has been down.” At times, though, the person’s brain has already died even though their heart may be brought back.
But Kane said that not only first responders can play a role in reviving those overdosing.
First, she noted that those family members who have a loved one who is a known addict living with them can try to avail themselves of the Narcan spray, which is available at pharmacies. Although expensive, she notes that some insurance policies will cover its expense. “It’s not a bad idea to have it,” Kane said.
And then there is simple, immediate CPR when a person has stopped breathing because of an overdose. The new technique of “hands only” CPR— inwhicha person administers pressure to the unconscious person’s chest in a regular beat — can be effective at getting a heart that has stopped beating again.