Heavy burden of non-fatal overdose among people who inject drugs in San Francisco, 2022

Background: Drug overdose deaths increased by 50 % between 2017 and 2021 in San Francisco. Little is known about non-fatal overdose, which heralds future risk for morbidity and overdose death. We assessed non-fatal overdose, access to drug treatment, and overdose prevention service utilization among people who inject drugs (PWID) in San Francisco in 2022.

Methods: Data were from the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS), a cross-sectional survey among PWID recruited by respondent-driven sampling from June-December 2022. Participants self-reported their experience of overall overdose. Logistic regression analysis identified factors associated with non-fatal overdose.

Results: Of 521 PWID, 120 (23.0 %) experienced non-fatal overdose; 207 (39.7 %) frequently injected methamphetamine and 175 (33.6 %) frequently injected heroin in the past 12 months. PWID who experienced non-fatal overdose were more likely to reside in the low-income neighborhoods (25.9 % vs. other neighborhoods 16.8 %, p = 0.022) in the past 12 months. Less than half (43.7 %) of PWID who experienced non-fatal overdose received overdose treatment. Compared to those who did not try to access treatment, adjusted odds of non-fatal overdose was 1.89 times higher among PWID who attempted to access drug treatment but were unable to (p = 0.035, 95 % CI 1.05-3.43); and 1.86 times higher among PWID who attempted to obtain medications to treat drug use but were unable to in the past 12 months (p = 0.049, 95 % CI: 1.00-3.43).

Conclusions: Non-fatal overdose was highly prevalent among PWID, including those who frequently inject stimulants. Public health surveillance will need to be vigilant in monitoring stimulant use and tracking fentanyl contamination in non-opioid drugs. PWID who were most engaged in harm reduction practices were also the most likely to experience non-fatal overdose. Expansion of substance use and overdose treatment, naloxone, fentanyl test strips, and safe drug use education are needed to reduce risk of overdose deaths among PWID.