Review of Non-intentional Poisonings by Narcotics

A recent increase in the number of overdose deaths related to fentanyl prompted the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse to collect additional data on the deaths involving fentanyl in Canada from 2009 to 2014.1 The report found an increase in number of fentanyl related deaths over the last two years of the study, 2013 and 2014. There were cases of fentanyl implicated deaths identified in the Northwest Territories (NWT) during the period 2009 to 2014. In order to better understand these cases in their context, analysis of all overdose deaths would be beneficial. This study aims to provide an overview of all overdose deaths in the NWT, in the same time period, 2009 to 2014, and further describe fentanyl related deaths. Additional data sources, namely emergency room visit (ER) data, hospitalization admissions, and Poison and Drug Information System (PADIS) were consulted for additional information on opioid related toxicities.