[Quality of the certification of death due to acute reaction to opiates and cocaine among inhabitants of the City of Madrid].

BACKGROUND

Deaths by acute reaction from drugs consumption (RAD) particularly heroine or cocaine, collected in routine morality statistics, have not changed substantially during the last ten years, whereas an specific collection system (State Information System on Drug-Abuse SISD) presented a great increase. For this reason, we try to measure the validity of drug-related deaths certificate.

METHODS

The cause of death, corresponding to the persons, from 15 to 39 years of age, decreased 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 consequent 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 decrease in a great measure.

CONCLUSIONS

It is necessary to improve substantially the collection of this cause of death in mortality statistics if we want a correct measurement of drug abuse lethal effects and the effectiveness of control programmes on this health problem.