Overdoses (ODs) of prescription opioids (RxOs) have become a major public health issue in the United States.
Objective: To determine the root causes of accidental prescription opioid overdoses (RxO-OD).
Design/setting/participants/intervention: The authors conducted a root cause analysis using the Antecedent Target-Measurement method, interviewing three types of key informants: survivors of RxO-ODs, family members, and clinical experts.
Results: Ten survivors, five family members, and three experts were interviewed. Proximal causes of RxO-ODs described by survivors and family members were recent RxO dose escalation (n = 9), polysubstance use (n = 5), and polypharmacy use (n = 3). Proximal causes were elicited by the following six antecedent causes: wanting to feel good/high (n = 9), perceived tolerance to RxO (n = 6), didn't know/believe it was dangerous (n = 5), wanting to reduce psychosocial pain (n = 5), wanting to reduce physical pain (n = 4), and wanting to avoid discomfort due to withdrawal symptoms (n = 4). RxOs involved in the OD were either prescribed by a doctor (n = 7), purchased from a dealer (n = 6), given/purchased from family/friends (n = 3), or stolen from family (n = 1). Psychosocial stressors (n = 9), chronic recurrent depression (n = 3), and chronic substance abuse/addiction (n = 4) were also distal and proximal causes of OD. Experts cited similar causes but added prescriberrelated causes (eg, inadequate training) and healthcare system and culture.
Conclusions: Patients at risk for OD can be identified and ODs potentially prevented. Opportunities for intervention include routine screening of patients using RxOs for psychosocial distress and coping, flagging of high-risk patients, care pathways for high-risk patients, clinician and patient training on OD prevention, and developing abuse-deterrent formulations of RxOs.