Preventing opioid overdose deaths with take-home naloxone

Metaúdaje publikácie

Preventing opioid overdose deaths with take-home naloxone examines the case for distributing naloxone, an emergency medication, to people who inject opioids such as heroin and to others who might witness an opioid overdose. Through its capacity to reverse opioid overdose, naloxone can save lives if administered in time. This comprehensive review begins by looking at the pharmacology of naloxone and the opioids it counteracts, and the physiological mechanisms involved. The chapters that follow look at the circumstances of opioid overdose deaths and the use of naloxone in regular clinical... practice. The historical development and spread of take-home naloxone programmes and the practical side of their implementation — focusing on training recipients in how to recognise and respond to an overdose — are each the subject of a chapter. The study closes by considering the prospects for the future, in the context of the development of new products, new legislation and new initiatives.