Table 2.
Study Characteristics.
| Author (Year) | Study Design | Data Source | Study Population | Sample Size | Region | Data Pre and Post Pandemic | Time Period of Data Collection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amram et al. (2021) [36] | Retrospective observational | Pre-post convenience survey; Medical records—patient information | English-speaking patients 18+ dispensed methadone at a Spokane opioid treatment program (OTP) | 249 patients | Spokane County, Washington | Yes | 1 December 2019–29 February 2020 (Pre-pandemic); 1 April 2020–30 June 2020 (Post-pandemic) |
| Bandara et al. (2020) [42] | Cross-sectional | Email survey | Leaderships from 16 carceral systems identified as potentially initiating OAT | 16 eligible systems | US | No | 5 May 2020–20 May 2020 |
| Brothers et al. (2020) [39] | Retrospective census | Comprehensive state-wide survey of Connecticut opioid treatment programs; State-level autopsies/toxicology reports on confirmed opioid-involved deaths | Patients dispensed methadone at opioid treatment programs (OTPs); people at risk for opioid-involved deaths in study region | 24,261 patients served at 8 OTPs in Connecticut; All confirmed opioid involved deaths in Connecticut | Connecticut | Yes | 1 January 2015–31 December 2019 (Pre-pandemic); 1 January 2020–31 August 2020 (Post-pandemic) |
| Buchheit et al. (2021) [61] | Longitudinal | Clinic data | Patients receiving low threshold SUD treatment services at a clinic | NA | Portland, Oregon | Yes | January 2020–August 2020 |
| Caton et al. (2021) [38] | Cross-sectional | Online survey | Primary care clinics enrolled in an existing medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) treatment expansion project | 57 clinics | US | No | 20 April 2020–8 May 2020 |
| Diaz-Martinez et al. (2021) [29] | Longitudinal | Phone survey with sample based on recruitment to ongoing study | People living with and without HIV | Whole sample = 196 | Miami, Florida | Yes | During participant’s last baseline visit (Pre-pandemic); July and August of 2020 (Post-pandemic) |
| People living with HIV = 116 | |||||||
| HIV-uninfected people = 80 | |||||||
| Downs et al. (2021) [43] | Retrospective observational | Texas PMP registry count of number of patients filled prescriptions of either an opioid or benzodiazepine product | Patients filled prescriptions of either an opioid or benzodiazepine product in study region | All unique patients filling new opioid prescriptions each day | Texas | Yes | 5 January 2020–20 March 2020 (Pre-pandemic, before restriction order on elective medical procedure); 31 March 2020–12 May 2020 (Post-pandemic, after restriction order) |
| Duncan et al. (2020) [31] | Retrospective observational | Census data from Hennepin County Jail medications for opioid use disorder program | Individuals with jail discharge accounted at the Hennepin County Jail in study region | 4912 discharges (Pre-pandemic); 2794 discharges (Post-pandemic) | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Yes | 1 January 2020–29 February 2020 (pre-pandemic); 1 April 2020–31 May 2020 (Post-pandemic) |
| French et al. (2021) [62] | Cross-sectional | Online survey | Participants requested and received naloxone medication from a free mailed program in study region | 422 survey respondents | Philadelphia, PA | No | 1 March 2020–31 January 2021 |
| Glenn et al. (2021) [46] | Retrospective observational | EMS system data | Patients receiving naloxone by EMS | Sample size pre-covid: 164 | Tucson, Arizona | Yes | Pre-pandemic: 01 January 2020 to 15 February 2020 |
| Sample size during-covid: 153 | During-pandemic: 16 March 2020 to 30 April 2020 | ||||||
| Grunvald et al. (2021) [54] | Retrospective observational | Medical records—ED; State and Chittenden County overdose reports | Patients 18+ presenting to ED for signs of opioid use disorder who meet inclusion criteria under the ED program that initiate medication for opioid use disorder (STAR) at University of Vermont Medical Center; Vermont residents with overdose-related fatalities | 126 (Pre-pandemic); 4 (During/Post-pandemic); All overdose deaths in report | Vermont | Yes | 1 February 2019–29 February 2020 (Pre-pandemic); 1 March 2020–31 May 2020 (Post-pandemic) |
| Handberry et al. (2021) [49] | Retrospective observational | Medical records—EMS | Patients included in the NEMSIS database | 16M (2018); 22M (2019); 25M (2020) total activations | States and territories participated in reporting to NEMSIS, US | Yes | 1 January 2018–29 February 2020 (Pre-pandemic); 1 March 2020–31 December 2020 (Post-pandemic) |
| Herring et al. (2020) [41] | Retrospective pre-post | Data from CA Bridge | Patients identified with and treated for OUD monitored by the California Bridge initiative across a subset of 52 hospitals | 70 participating hospital inpatient units across study region | California | Yes | 30 December 2018–16 March 2020 (Pre-pandemic); 17 March 2020–10 October 2020 (Post-pandemic) |
| Holland et al. (2021) [48] | Retrospective pre-post | CDC’s National Syndrome Surveillance Program data | Patients presenting at ED in study region | 187,508,065 total ED visits | US | Yes | 1 May 2019–31 March 2020 (Pre-pandemic); 1 April 2020–31 April 2020 (Post-pandemic) |
| Hughes et al. (2021) [40] | Retrospective observational | Medical records—patient information | Patients who had ever been prescribed a buprenorphine-containing medication and had an ICD-10 diagnosis code for OUD in EHR system at a single-family medicine clinic with a high concentration of providers that offer office-based opioid treatment (OBOT) services in a primarily rural and micropolitan region with a high overdose rate in study region | 242 patients | Appalachian Mountains | Yes | 16 January 2020–15 March 2020 (Pre-pandemic); 16 March 2020–15 April 2020 (Transition); 16 April 2020–15 June 2020 (Post-pandemic) |
| Jacka et al. (2021) [25] | Cross-sectional | Survey | Patients in 8 opioid treatment programs part of a hybrid trial Project MIMIC, who were 18+ and newly inducted on MOUD within the past 30 days | 135 respondents | New England | No | May 2020–July 2020 |
| Janulis et al. (2021) [27] | Longitudinal cohort | Cohort study data | Young men who have sex with men and young transgender women part of the study cohort | 458 study participants | Chicago, Illinois | Yes | 21 March 2020–1 October 2020 |
| Jones et al. (a) (2021) [37] | Cross-sectional | Email survey | DATA-waived physicians identified through DEA files | 10,238 clinicians | US | No | 23 June 2020–19 August 2020 |
| Jones et al. (b) (2021) [45] | Retrospective observational; Comparative | Medical records—patient information | Patients dispensed OUD captured in the IQVIA Total Patient Tracker database | All patients dispensed buprenorphine products in data source during the study period (national sample) | US | Yes | 1 January 2019–31 May 2020 |
| Khoury et al. (2021) [55] | Retrospective observational | Medical records—EMS | Patients with incident included in the study region’s EMS database | All occurrences of opioid-related EMS runs | Guilford County, North Carolina | Yes | 1 September 2014–9 March 2020 (Pre-pandemic); 10 March 2020–30 September 2020 (Post-pandemic) |
| Lucero et al. (2020) [52] | Retrospective, observational, cross-sectional | Billing data | Individuals involved in emergency department encounters | Pre- shelter-in-place (SIP) order ED encounters = 25,884,384 | 16 states within the US | Yes | 1 January 2017–20 April 2020 |
| Post-SIP order ED encounters = 339,054 | |||||||
| Mason et al. (2021) [60] | Longitudinal | Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office data | Opioid-Involved Overdose Fatalities | A total of 4283 opioid overdose fatalities occurred during study period | Cook County, Illinois | Yes | Four time periods: |
| (1) 5 January 2018–3 December 2019; | |||||||
| (2) 4 December 2019–20 March 2020; | |||||||
| (3) 21 March -5 June 2020; | |||||||
| (4) 6 June -23 December 2020 | |||||||
| Mistler et al. (2021) [26] | Cross-sectional | Phone survey | Participants from parent study recruited from Connecticut’s largest addiction treatment setting providing MOUD | 110 patients | Connecticut | No | 7 May 2020–18 September 2020 |
| Nguyen et al. (2020) [44] | Retrospective observational | Retail pharmacy claims database | Individuals who filled prescriptions | 92% of retail pharmacy claims | US | Yes | Every week between 1 May 2019, and 28 June 2020 except for the week of 8 March to 15 March 2020, which was excluded because this was the week before the transitioning week (16 March). |
| Niles et al. (2021) [33] | Retrospective observational | National clinical laboratory database | Presumptive immunoassay screening tests | 872,762 specimens | All | Yes | Baseline time period: 1 January 2019–14 March 2020 |
| 50 states and the District of Columbia | COVID-19 pandemic time period: 15 March–16 May 2020 | ||||||
| Palamar and Acosta (2021) [30] | Cross-sectional | Online survey | Electronic dance music (EDM) adult partygoers who live in study region and reported recent drug use | 128 participants | New York | No | 18 April 2020–25 May 2020 |
| Palamar et al. (2021) [34] | Retrospective pre-post | High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas drug seizure data | Drug seizure (cocaine, meth, heroin, fentanyl) accounts in study regions | All drug seizures | Washington DC/Baltimore, Chicago, Ohio, New Mexico, and North Florida | Yes | 1 March 2019–30 September 2020 |
| Pines et al. (2021) [50] | Retrospective observational | Data from 18 general U.S. acute care hospital EDs | ED visits for substance use disorders | 4.5 million ED visits | 18 US. states | Yes | January–July 2019, January–July 2020 |
| Ridout et al. (2021) [58] | Retrospective observational | Medical records—EHR | Patients seeking outpatient psychiatric care at Kaiser Permanente Northern CA | 94,720 (2019); 94,589 (2020) | Northern California | Yes | 9 March 2019–31 March 2019 (Pre-pandemic); 9 March 2020–31 March 2020 (Post-pandemic) |
| Rosenbaum et al. (2021) [56] | Retrospective observational | Medical records—EHR | Patients seen and evaluated for opioid overdose in an urban three-hospital health system in study region | 46,078 (Pre-pandemic); 35,971 (Post-pandemic) | Philadelphia, PA | Yes | 14 December 2019–22 March 2020 (Pre-pandemic); 23 March 2020–30 June 2020 |
| Shreffler et al. (2021) [53] | Retrospective observational | Electronic medical health record and county coroner data | Patients presenting to trauma center with an overdose diagnosis | 873 individuals had an overdose diagnosis in the ED and 440 individuals in the county diedof drug overdose | Trauma center at University of Louisville in Jefferson County, Kentucky | Yes | 16 weeks from the date that a state of emergency was declared by the governor (6 March 2020). This is Period 3. Compared with: |
| - Same time period in 2019 (Period 1) | |||||||
| - 16 weeks prior to 6 March 2020 (Period 2) | |||||||
| Soares et al. (2021) [51] | Retrospective observational | Medical records—ED | All adult ED visits to one of the 25 EDs across 6 health systems during study periods | 1,215,250 visits (2018); 1,283,303 visits (2019); 1,074,936 visits (2020) | Connecticut, North Carolina, Colorado, Massachusetts, Alabama, Rhode Island | Yes | 1 January 2018–31 December 2019 (Pre-pandemic); 1 January 2020–31 December 2020 (Post-pandemic) |
| Starks et al. (2020) [28] | Cross-sectional; Comparative | Online survey | 18+ cisgender sexual minority males who indicated their partner was cisgender male, excluding those reporting vaginal sex | 455 (Pre-pandemic); 455 (Post-pandemic) | US | Yes | 1 November 2017–30 November 2019 (Pre-pandemic); 6 May 2020–17 May 2020 (post-pandemic) |
| Stroever et al. (2021) [57] | Retrospective observational | Master patient index data, a combination of clinical, financial, and administrative records | ED encounters attributed to mental health conditions in individuals 18 years and older seeking medical care | 129,429 ED encounters | 3 southwestern Connecticut hospitals | Yes | January–August 2019 and January–August 2020 |
| Vieson et al. (2021) [59] | Retrospective observational | Vital records—Ohio Department of Health death records | Residents identified in the data source with opioid overdose deaths (OOD) | All census OOD included in analysis | Ohio | Yes | 1 January 2010–31 December 2020 |
| Young et al. (2021) [32] | Retrospective observational | Medical records—ED | Injured patients with blood alcohol concentration and urine toxicology tests admitted in 11 American College of Surgeons Level I and II trauma centers across 7 counties in study region | 20,448 patients (total); 7707 (Control group); 6022 (Pre-pandemic group), 6719 (Post-pandemic group) | Southern California | Yes | 19 March 2019–30 June 2019 (Historical control); 1 January 2020–18 March 2020 (Pre-pandemic); 19 March 2020–30 June 2020 (Post-pandemic) |
| Zubiago et al. (2021) [47] | Retrospective observational | Medical records—EHR | PWUD that were hospitalized at TuftsMC with positive toxicology screen for fentanyl, amphetamines, cocaine, opiates, oxycodone, methadone, buprenorphine, benzodiazepines, or alcohol; or having a score of 8 or more on the CIWA scale and/or a score of 2 or more on the CAGE scale; or having been prescribed methadone, buprenorphine, naltrexone, acamprosate, or disulfiram | 6637 hospitalizations (Pre-pandemic); 1489 hospitalizations (Post-pandemic) | Boston, Massachusetts | Yes | 1 January 2017–31 December 2019 (Pre-pandemic); 1 January 2020–31 August 2020 (Post-pandemic) |