The Authors’ Own Words:  

We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work. 

Development and evaluation of a standardized research definition for opioid overdose outcomes

Ingrid A. Binswanger, MD, MPH, MS; Komal J. Narwaney, PhD; Edward M. Gardner, MD; Barbara A. Gabella, MSPH; Susan L. Calcaterra, MD, MPH; Jason M. Glanz, PhD

Substance Abuse Vol. 40, Iss. 1, 2019

“There is little consensus on how to verify opioid overdose outcomes for research purposes. To ensure reproducibility, minimize misclassification, and permit data harmonization across studies, standardized and consistent overdose definitions are needed. Thus, Binswanger and colleagues developed and evaluated a case criteria classification scheme for pharmaceutical opioid and heroin overdoses in two distinct health systems, using information commonly available in electronic health records. This scheme was compared with clinician impression and encounter documentation. This novel case criteria classification scheme for opioid overdose represents a potential option for a consistent and reproducible definition of overdose in multi-site research.“