Naloxone may help save lives in opioid overdose cases: report

Naloxone, a pharmaceutical drug used to reverse respiratory depression caused by opioid overdose, may help save lives in opioid overdose cases with adequate intervention, according to the report released by the European Union's drugs agency, European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drugs Addiction (EMCDDA) on Tuesday.

Between 6,000 and 8,000 drug-induced deaths are reported in Europe every year, with opioids such as heroin, found in most overdose cases, the agency said in a press release.

Naloxone has been used in emergency medicine since the 1970s, listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an "essential medicine" and traditionally available in injectable form.

Research shows that many opioid overdoses occur in the presence of bystanders, who, if empowered to act appropriately, have the potential to save lives while waiting for emergency services to arrive at the scene.

"This has led to the emergence of naloxone as a harm-reduction measure since the 1990s, with the provision of take-home naloxone kits to opioid users and those likely to witness opioid overdoses," the statement said.

Moreover, as naloxone formulations are currently licensed in injectable form, which can prove a psychological obstacle for non-medical responders as well as a health risk for all those administering the drug.

Therefore, safer and easier routes of administration are currently under development, which could contribute to the drug's wider use.

However, reducing fatal drug overdoses remains an important challenge for public health policy, as pointed out by the report that "action is urgently needed to improve take-home naloxone availability." Endit