Technical notes

• Counts and rates are preliminary and may change over time as data is updated.
• Calendar Year Q1= January-March, Q2= April-Jun, Q3= July-September, Q4= October-December. Quarterly rates have been annualized (e.g. multiplied by 4) for comparability between different time periods.

Opioid overdose-related emergency department (ED) visits

• Data source 2018-2020 Q1: National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS). Ambulatory Visits 2018-2020 [data file]. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Institute for Health Information [produced]; Toronto, ON: Ontario Ministry of Health, IntelliHEALTH Ontario [distributor]; Date extracted by Renfrew County and District Health Unit: [2024-03-26]
• Data source 2020 Q2-present: National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS). Weekly emergency department visits for opioid overdose FY2023/24 Week 52 [data file]. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Institute for Health (CIHI) [producer]; Toronto, ON. Ministry of Health [distributor]; received by Renfrew County and District Health Unit
• Notes:

1) ICD-10 codes inclusions= Unscheduled ED visits where main or other problem equals T40.0, T40.1, T40.20, T40.21, T40.22, T40.23, T40.28, T40.3, T40.40, T40.41, T40.48, T40.6. ICD-10 codes exclusions= unconfirmed (query) diagnoses.

2) Data for ED visits only capture those who visit the ED and may not reflect the total burden in the population.

3) Interpret 2020 and 2021 results with caution due to changes in the availability of health care and health seeking behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Opioid-related deaths and suspect drug poisoning deaths

• Data source 2018-present: Office of the Chief Coroner, Ontario. (2024). OCC Monthly Update: Suspect drug opioid related deaths. [XLSX]. https://odprn.ca/occ-opioid-and-suspect-drug-related-death-data/ (using most up to date file at time of update)
• Notes: Public Health Units regions are assigned primarily based on location of incident. If data for location of incident is pending, region will reflect location of death. Region will reflect location of death in cases where the incident occurred outside of Ontario.
• Definitions:

1) Suspect drug poisoning deaths include deaths where the coroner indicated that they suspect the death may be drug-related based on preliminary investigation (e.g. drugs or drug use equipment were found at the scene, history of drug use or naloxone use, physical signs of drug use, etc.). These deaths exclude death associated with trauma (e.g. injuries) and medical assistance in dying cases.

2) Probable opioid toxicity deaths are suspect drug-related deaths where conclusions on cause of death are pending, and toxicology is positive for opioids. Toxicology results take ~3 months to become available.

3) Confirmed opioid toxicity deaths are deaths for which a coroner or forensic pathologist determined the cause of death to be drug toxicity with opioid involvement. These may include drug toxicity deaths involving multiple substances. Conclusions on cause of death may take several months to become available. The sum of confirmed + probable deaths are used when reporting on trends in opioid toxicity deaths in the last 12 months.

Population estimates

• Data source 2018-2022: Statistics Canada. Table 17-10-0134-01 Population estimates, July 1, by health region and peer group, 2018 boundaries
• Data source 2023-present: Statistics Canada & Ontario Ministry of Finance. Population Projections by PHU, 2023-2032 [data file]. Toronto, ON: Ontario Ministry of Health, IntelliHEALTH Ontario [distributor]; Date extracted by Renfrew County and District Health Unit: [2024-03-11]