Background: Despite the demonstrated value of opioid overdose education and naloxone distribution (OEND) programs, uptake and utilization remains low. Accessibility to OEND is limited and traditional programs may not reach many high-risk individuals. This study evaluated the effectiveness of online opioid overdose and naloxone administration education and the impact of naloxone possession.
Methods: Individuals with self-reported illicit use of opioids were recruited via Craigslist advertisements and completed all assessments and education online via REDCap. Participants watched a 20-minute video outlining signs of opioid overdose and how to administer naloxone. They were then randomized to either receive a naloxone kit or be given instructions on where to obtain a kit. Effectiveness of training was measured with pre- and post-training knowledge questionnaires. Naloxone kit possession, overdoses, opioid use frequency, and treatment interest were self-reported on monthly follow-up assessments.
Results: Mean knowledge scores significantly increased from 6.82/9.00 to 8.22 after training (t(194)=6.85, p <0.001, 95% CI[1.00, 1.81], Cohen's d=0.85). Difference in naloxone possession between randomized groups was significant with a large effect size (p <0.001, diff=0.60, 95% CI[0.47, 0.73]). A bidirectional relationship was found between naloxone possession and frequency of opioid use. Overdoses and treatment interest were similar across possession status.
Conclusions: Overdose education is effective in online video format. Disparity in naloxone possession across groups indicates barriers to obtaining naloxone from pharmacies. Naloxone possession did not influence risky opioid use or treatment interest and its impact on frequency of use warrants further investigation.
Trial Registration: Clinitaltrials.gov-NCT04303000.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2023.110815 | DOI Listing |
Background: While concomitant opioid and benzodiazepine use is discouraged due to an increased risk of sedation/overdose, the extent of perioperative opioid utilization in hand surgery patients already using benzodiazepines is unknown.
Methods: Using an administrative claims database, we identified adults undergoing carpal tunnel, DeQuervain, or trigger finger release, palmar fasciectomies, ganglion/mucoid cyst removals, and hand/wrist soft tissue mass excisions from 2011 to 2021. We identified opioid-naive patients with a benzodiazepine prescription within 90 days before surgery.
Addiction
January 2025
Family and Community Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Background And Aims: Opioid smoking is becoming more common in the United States. The aim of this analysis was to estimate relative mortality risk among those who primarily smoke opioids compared with those who inject.
Design: Retrospective propensity score-matched cohort analysis.
Int J Drug Policy
January 2025
Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, 1518 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States. Electronic address:
Background: Harm reduction vending machines (HRVMs) that dispense safe injection equipment and other supplies have operated globally for more than 30 years, yet few operate in the U.S., particularly in the rural epicenters of drug-related harms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Drug Policy
January 2025
Centre de recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), 900 rue St-Denis, Montréal, Québec H2X 0A9, Canada; Department of Emergency and Family Medicine, Université de Montréal, 2900 blvd Edouard Montpetit, Montréal, Québec H3T 1J4, Canada; National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, Anzac Parade, Kensington NSW 2052, Australia. Electronic address:
Background: Supervised injection sites (SIS) offer a hygienic environment in which people can inject drugs under observation; as such, these harm reduction services have been on the forefront of the overdose epidemic. We sought to understand factors predictive of an overdose requiring an emergency response intervention at SIS in Montréal, Canada.
Methods: We used administrative data from all four Montréal SIS from 1 March 2018 - 31 October 2022 to first calculate the rate of onsite overdose requiring intervention (e.
Curr Res Toxicol
December 2024
University of Central Florida, NanoScience Technology Center, 12424 Research Parkway, Suite 400, Orlando, FL 23826, United States.
Opioids have been the primary method used to manage pain for hundreds of years, however the increasing prescription rate of these drugs in the modern world has led to a public health crisis of overdose related deaths. Naloxone is the current standard treatment for opioid overdose rescue, but it has not been fully investigated for potential off-target toxicity effects. The current methods for pharmaceutical development do not correlate well with pre-clinical animal studies compared to clinical results, creating a need for improved methods for therapeutic evaluation.
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