How the CDC Is Addressing the Growing Drug Epidemic

During the opening remarks on the third day of the 2022 Rx and Illicit Drug Summit, Debra Houry, MD, MPH, acting principal deputy director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), updated attendees on the CDC’s latest steps in addressing the drug overdose epidemic.

“In 2020 alone, nearly 92,000 Americans died from a drug overdose,” Dr Houry said to the audience. “More than two-thirds involved an opioid.

She explained that the US is seeing a worsening trend with a 15.7% increase in drug over deaths from November 2020 to November 2021.

“When we look at the demographics, this epidemic has no boundaries.”

Dr Houry stressed to the crowd that not all overdoses have to end in death. She compared it with her time as an emergency room doctor and said that she knows this is very true. However, to make this happen, “everyone has a role to play.”

She stressed the importance of learning about the risks of opioids, learning about naloxone, including its availability and use, and finally how to help people struggling with opioid use disorder find treatment.

“This is CDC’s priority to equip those treating patients with opioid use disorder with the necessary things they need.”

Dr Houry also highlighted the negative impact adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have on patients. She said ACEs, which are typically traumatic events during childhood, are “associated with many of the leading causes of death, like heart disease and cancer.”

Future Prevention Efforts

“Some strategies focus on prevention through system-level changes, public education, and implementation of policies and programs based on the best available evidence,” Dr Houry said.

She explained that there needs to be “a coordinated approach to address the interrelated crises of exposure to ACEs, overdose, and suicide.” This coordinated approach will:

• Increase both the understanding and coordination across these treatment and prevention fields
• Engage a larger movement of champions and change agents in communities
• Ensure equity in policies, programs, and services while reducing disparities
• Invest in research and evaluation to better understand what works well, why these approaches work; and for whom they work
• Implement successful treatment and prevention strategies and adapt them for specific cultural contexts

More specifically, Dr Houry highlighted 5 areas for intervention. They included:

• Early detection
• Early intervention
• Expanded access and provision
• Supported harm reduction
• Strengthened prevention

She highlighted that the CDC is using overdose data to help improve treatment and prevention.

Overdose initiatives across the country include:

• Teen text lines
• Expansions to first responders
• Some locations that receive real-time data to help improve care

Finally, the CDC is working on a plan to reduce infectious disease among those who use drugs. Their mission is to “decrease morbidity, mortality, and incidence of infectious diseases associated with injection drug use, as well as stigma experienced by people who use drugs.”

Dr Houry said their strategic priorities are to strengthen the syringe services program infrastructure nationwide, along with establishing coordinated surveillance, monitoring, and program implementation.

“At CDC, we put health equity at the front and center of our work,” Dr Houry said. “Health equity is when everyone has the opportunity to be as healthy as possible.”

Reference

Houry D. The state of the drug overdose epidemic: moving from crisis to hope. Presented at: Rx and Illicit Drug Summit; April 18-21, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia.