SUDORS Drug Overdose Deaths Data for Delaware

State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS)

Preliminary death certificates, medical examiner reports, toxicology, and law enforcement reports are reviewed for each unintentional and undetermined overdose death that occurs in Delaware. From these data sources, variables of interest are collected and manually entered into the State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS). Although the abstraction and entry processes are lengthy, SUDORS is considered the data source that best balances timelines and completeness as it is available to display on My Healthy Community within fifteen months after the date of death. SUDORS data are provided in six-month reporting periods after the close-out process with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is up to eight months after the date of death. Prior to the resolution of the death certificate, SUDORS, provides timely estimates of unintentional overdose deaths occurring in Delaware.

SUDORS data are updated on this site approximately once per year.

Sections on this page
Demographics
Circumstances
Toxicology

Demographics

Data are current as of 1/1/2018

Data elements available in SUDORS include sex, race and ethnicity, age group, educational level, marital status, homelessness, armed forces history, and occupation. ZIP code information shows where the injury occurred, where the death occurred, and the deceased's residential location.

Key demographic findings include the following:

Although most drug overdose deaths are amongst non-Hispanic White males, aged 25 to 55 years old, the highest increase in drug overdose death rate was in the non-Hispanic Black population from 2020 to 2022 with a 72% increase.
Drug overdose decedents who were homeless at the time of death made up a larger percentage of the population in 2022 (8.2%) compared with 2019 (3.6%).
Between 2018 and 2022, one in five overdose decedents worked in the construction industry.

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Unintentional Drug Overdose Deaths by Injury Zip Code (2018 - 2022)

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Age-adjusted rate per 100,000 people

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Drug Overdose Deaths by Demographics

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Drug Overdose Deaths (Percentage) by Age in Delaware

Percentage of all drug overdose deaths

Circumstances

Data are current as of 1/1/2022

Various information is collected that can help understand the circumstances of drug overdose deaths. Circumstances of a drug overdose are categorized into the following groups:

Circumstances at time of death

The most common circumstance at the time of death is that the drug overdose death occurred inside a residence. Having a bystander present at the time of death has increased the fastest from 2019 to 2022.

Medical History

About one in four decedents has a history of mental health problems, which is the most common medical history circumstance. The proportion of decedents who have had Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) is small, at about 15%, although this amount is increasing slowly year by year.

Recent Institutional Release

Not many decedents were released from an institutional setting in the month prior to death, but of those that did, substance use disorder residential treatment facilities, jails, and hospitals were the most common.

Route of Drug Administration

Identical drugs can produce different results depending on the route of administration. Routes of drug use have implications for overdose risk, infectious disease transmission, other comorbidities, and harm reduction services.

Deaths by Circumstance

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Drug Overdose Deaths (Percentage) by Circumstances At Time of Death in Delaware

Percentage of all drug overdose deaths

Drug Overdose Deaths by Circumstances and Demographic Group

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Drug Overdose Deaths (Percentage) by Age in Delaware

Percentage of all drug overdose deaths

Toxicology

Toxicology results from testing the decedent can show trends in substances that caused drug overdose deaths.

Deaths can be investigated by month and quarter to detect seasonal variation across multiple years. For example, the increasing presence of methamphetamine and fentanyl analogs and decreasing presence of heroin can be seen in the annual charts below.

Drug Overdose Deaths by Substance

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Count by Month in Delaware

Additional Information

All Drug Category

The 'All Drug' category can include any substance that was determined to cause the death. Most drug deaths involve opioids and/or stimulants.

What drugs are considered opioids?

Opioids include fentanyl, heroin, and prescriptions like oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine, and tramadol. Prescription opioids

Parafluorofentanyl (PFF)

Parafluorofentanyl (PFF) is also an opioid. It has a similar structure and strength as fentanyl. Both fentanyl and PFF can be pointed to as driving forces behind the high amounts of drug overdose deaths in Delaware.

Stimulants

Stimulants include cocaine and methamphetamine or “crystal meth”.

Xylazine

Xylazine is a veterinary tranquilizer that has recently been added to toxicology testing procedures in Delaware. It is not approved for use in people and can cause side effects like sedation, difficulty breathing, dangerously low blood pressure, slowed heart rate, wounds that can become infected, severe withdrawal symptoms, and death. Xylazine may be used in combination with opioids, so naloxone, an opioid-reversal drug, should be given to address an opioid overdose, but naloxone is not effective on xylazine

Methadone

Methadone is a medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD).

Benzodiazepines

Benzodiazepines are another category of drugs like opioids and stimulants but are not as commonly found in drug overdose decedents. They are depressants to aid with insomnia, anxiety, and seizures. Using benzodiazepines with opioids can cause sedation, depressed breathing, coma, and death. Benzodiazepines may be used in combination with opioids, so naloxone should be given to address an opioid overdose, but naloxone is not effective on benzodiazepines

Polysubstance-Involved Drug Overdose Deaths

Polysubstance-Involved Drug Overdose Deaths in Delaware (2019 - 2022)

Number of people

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About the Data

Explore SUDORS Data

Polysubstance Drug Overdose Deaths by Injury ZIP Code

Map of Delaware showing rate of Polysubstance Drug Overdose Deaths by Injury ZIP Code

Data are current as of 2018

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Drug Overdose Deaths (Polysubstance: Fentanyl Only) (2018)

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Rate per 100,000 people

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Map Results Data Table

ZIP Codes	Fentanyl Onlyrate per 100,000 people
Zip Code 19801	48.4
Zip Code 19805	27.8
Zip Code 19952	23.6
Zip Code 19713	23.4
Zip Code 19804	22.2
Zip Code 19703	18.3
Zip Code 19947	17.9
Zip Code 19963	17.5
Zip Code 19720	16.9
Zip Code 19802	16.3
Zip Code 19966	15.4
Zip Code 19977	15.3
Zip Code 19901	14.1
Zip Code 19904	13.4
Zip Code 19810	11.7
Zip Code 19958	10.4
Zip Code 19808	9.8
Zip Code 19711	9.0
Zip Code 19701	8.4
Zip Code 19973	5.8
Zip Code 19702	5.7
Zip Code 19803	4.7
Zip Code 19709	3.1
Zip Code 19807	0.0
Zip Code 19717	0.0
Zip Code 19946	0.0
Zip Code 19734
Zip Code 19736
Zip Code 19953
Zip Code 19979
Zip Code 19955
Zip Code 19710
Zip Code 19732
Zip Code 19964
Zip Code 19933
Zip Code 19944
Zip Code 19731
Zip Code 19735
Zip Code 19941
Zip Code 19936
Zip Code 19730
Zip Code 19960
Zip Code 19970
Zip Code 19968
Zip Code 19956
Zip Code 19806
Zip Code 19950
Zip Code 19716
Zip Code 19975
Zip Code 19706
Zip Code 19931
Zip Code 19733
Zip Code 19809
Zip Code 19707
Zip Code 19938
Zip Code 19902
Zip Code 19930
Zip Code 19940
Zip Code 19945
Zip Code 19951
Zip Code 19939
Zip Code 19971
Zip Code 19934
Zip Code 19943
Zip Code 19962
Zip Code 19967
Zip Code 19954