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 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.
Unintentional Drug Overdose Deaths by Injury Zip Code (2018 - 2022)
Drug Overdose Deaths by Demographics
and
Drug Overdose Deaths by Age (2018 - 2022)
Percentage of all drug overdose deaths
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About the Data
Data Sources
Citation: Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health, State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS), 2018-2023.
Circumstance
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:
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.
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.
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.
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
and
Drug Overdose Deaths — Circumstances At Time of Death (2022)
Percentage of all drug overdose deaths
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About the Data
Data Sources
Citation: Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health, State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS), 2018-2023.
Drug Overdose Deaths by Circumstances and Demographic Group
and
Drug Overdose Deaths by Circumstances At Time of Death
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About the Data
Data Sources
Citation: Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health, State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS), 2018-2023.
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
and
Drug Overdose Deaths by Drug Type
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About the Data
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
Data Sources
Citation: Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health, State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS), 2018-2023.
Polysubstance-Involved Drug Overdose Deaths
Polysubstance-Involved Drug Overdose Deaths in Delaware (2019 - 2022)
Number of people
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About the Data
Data Sources
Citation: Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health, State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS), 2018-2023.
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
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 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19736 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19953 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19979 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19955 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19710 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19732 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19964 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19933 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19944 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19731 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19735 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19941 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19936 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19730 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19960 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19970 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19968 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19956 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19806 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19950 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19716 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19975 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19706 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19931 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19733 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19809 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19707 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19938 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19902 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19930 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19940 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19945 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19951 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19939 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19971 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19934 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19943 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19962 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19967 | N/A |
| Zip Code 19954 | N/A |
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