Quality of Certification of Death Due to Acute Reaction to Opium Products and Cocaine among Residents in the City of Madrid

Abstract

Background: Deaths by acute reaction from drugs consumption (RAD) particularly heroine or cocaine, collected in routine monality statisticsh, aven ot changed substantially during the lastt en yearsw, hem an specific collection system (State Information System on Drug-Aluse SISD) presented a great increase. For this teason, we try to mea- SUIC the validity of drug-related deaths certificate. Methods: The cause of death. corresponding to the persons, from 15 to 39 years of age, deceased in 1988 and residing in the Municipality of Madrid, registered in the Civil Register Decease Book and in the death Statistics Bulletins (DSB} was compared with the cause present in the autopsy report. Results: A detection rate of 2.45% for the CR and 3.27% for the DSB were obtained. With the consecuent correction, the RAD for this age group would be the second cause of mortality in the Municipality of Madrid and deaths related to circulatory and respiratory system would decrense in a great measure. Conclusions: It is necessary to improve substantially the collection of this cause of death in mortnlity statistics if we wnnt a correct measurement of drug abuse lethal effects and thc eîfectiveness of control programmes on this health problem.