Death certification following MRSA bacteraemia, England, 2004-05.

This study examined factors affecting whether or not meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA) is recorded on the death certificate of individuals who died following a laboratory confirmed MRSA bacteraemia and compared this with another organism, Streptococcus pneumoniae. The study included all patients with a positive MRSA or S. pneumoniae bacteraemia reported to the Health Protection Agency between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2005 and linked to a death registered up to 31 March 2006.

Drug-related mortality and fatal overdose risk: pilot cohort study of heroin users recruited from specialist drug treatment sites in London.

Fatal overdose and drug-related mortality are key harms associated with heroin use, especially injecting drug use (IDU), and are a significant contribution to premature mortality among young adults. Routine mortality statistics tend to underreport the number of overdose deaths and do not reflect the wider causes of death associated with heroin use. Cohort studies could provide evidence for interpreting trends in routine mortality statistics and monitoring the effectiveness of strategies that aim to reduce drug-related deaths.