Heroin overdose: the case for take-home naloxone

BMJ 1996;312:1435-1436 (8 June)

Editorials

Heroin overdose: the case for take-home naloxone

Home based supplies of naloxone would save lives

Non-fatal overdose is an occupational risk of heroin misuse¹and fatal overdose is a common cause of premature death in heroinusers.² ³ ⁴ One of the major contributors to a fatal outcomeis the inadequacy of heroin users' responses to the overdosesof their peers. They may delay calling an ambulance for fearof the police arriving, and their efforts to revive comatoseusers are often ineffective. The distribution of naloxone toopiate users was first mooted in 1992⁵ as an intervention thatwould be life saving in such situations.⁶ With a rising tollof deaths from heroin overdose it is time to take the suggestionseriously.

Interviews with 320 heroin users in Sydney found that two thirdshad had a drug overdose, a third within the past year, and that80% had been present at the overdose of another user.⁷ In Australia. . . [Full text of this article]

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