Opioids, both prescription and illicit, are the main cause of drug overdose deaths.
Per the CDC, opioids were involved in 33,091 deaths in 2015, and opioid overdoses
have quadrupled since 1999 [
[1]
]. The distribution of naloxone to at-risk populations has been shown to reduce the
likelihood of death from an overdose [
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Opioid overdose. Drug overdose death data.
https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/statedeaths.html
Date: December 16, 2016
Date accessed: August 29, 2017
[2]
] and has been recommended by most major professional medical organizations [
3
,
- American Medical Association
AMA adds new tools to combat opioids.
https://www.ama-assn.org/ama-adds-new-tools-combat-opioids
Date: June 15, 2016
Date accessed: August 29, 2017
4
,
- American College of Emergency Physicians
Naloxone prescriptions by emergency physicians.
https://www.acep.org/Clinical---Practice-Management/Naloxone-Prescriptions-by-Emergency-Physicians/
Date: October 2015
Date accessed: August 29, 2017
5
,
6
]. Our urban center hosts one of the oldest naloxone distribution programs in the
country [
[7]
].- Harm Reduction Coalition
Naloxone program case studies: Chicago recovery alliance.
http://harmreduction.org/issues/overdose-prevention/tools-best-practices/naloxone-program-case-studies/chicago-recovery-alliance/
Date: 2011
Date accessed: August 29, 2017
Keywords
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References
- Opioid overdose. Drug overdose death data.https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/statedeaths.htmlDate: December 16, 2016Date accessed: August 29, 2017
- Centers for disease control (CDC). Opioid overdose prevention programs providing naloxone to laypersons—United States, 2014.MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly Rep. 2015; 64: 631-635
- AMA adds new tools to combat opioids.https://www.ama-assn.org/ama-adds-new-tools-combat-opioidsDate: June 15, 2016Date accessed: August 29, 2017
- Naloxone prescriptions by emergency physicians.https://www.acep.org/Clinical---Practice-Management/Naloxone-Prescriptions-by-Emergency-Physicians/Date: October 2015Date accessed: August 29, 2017
- Expanding access to naloxone in the United States.Clin. Toxicol. (Phila). 2014; 52: 989-992
- Naloxone: a take-home antidote to drug overdose that saves lives.
- Naloxone program case studies: Chicago recovery alliance.http://harmreduction.org/issues/overdose-prevention/tools-best-practices/naloxone-program-case-studies/chicago-recovery-alliance/Date: 2011Date accessed: August 29, 2017
- The relationship between initial route of heroin administration and speed of transition to daily heroin use.Drug Alcohol Rev. 2017 May 3; ([Epub ahead of print])https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.12560
- Prescription opioid use among patients seeking treatment for opioid dependence.J. Addict. Med. 2010 Jun 1; 4: 108-113
- Signs and risks of snorting heroin.([accessed Aug 29, 2017])
- Fentanyl in the US heroin supply: a rapidly changing risk environment.Int. J. Drug Policy. 2017 Aug; 46: 107-111
Article Info
Publication History
Published online: March 26, 2018
Accepted:
March 23,
2018
Received in revised form:
March 23,
2018
Received:
December 19,
2017
Footnotes
☆This study was presented in part at the American College of Medical Toxicology's Annual Science Meeting, April 1, 2017; San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA (Abstract #79).
Identification
Copyright
Published by Elsevier Inc.
