Short Attention Span Summary
Narcan take-home pack
Two-thirds of opiate abusers approached in this study were willing to be trained and sent home with a naloxone kit. Features associated with greater acceptance of naloxone kits were: those who had witnessed others overdose, were personally concerned about overdosing, were female, or were IV drug users.
Spoon Feed
Two-thirds of opiate abusing patients were willing to accept take-home naloxone. This could save lives.
Ann Emerg Med. 2016 Oct 10. pii: S0196-0644(16)30407-3. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2016.07.027. [Epub ahead of print]
Kestler A1, Buxton J2, Meckling G3, Giesler A4, Lee M5, Fuller K6, Quian H7, Marks D8, Scheuermeyer F9.
Author information:
1Department of Emergency Medicine, St Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Department of Emergency Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Electronic address: [email protected].
2School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
3Faculty of Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
4School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
5School of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
6Department of Emergency Medicine, St Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
7Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcomes Sciences, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
8London School of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene.
9Department of Emergency Medicine, St Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Department of Emergency Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Abstract
STUDY OBJECTIVE:
Although the World Health Organization recommends take-home naloxone to address the increasing global burden of opioid-related deaths, few emergency departments (EDs) offer a take-home naloxone program. We seek to determine the take-home naloxone acceptance rate among ED patients at high risk of opioid overdose and to examine factors associated with acceptance.
METHODS:
At a single urban ED, consecutive eligible patients at risk of opioid overdose were invited to complete a survey about opioid use, overdose experience, and take-home naloxone awareness, and then offered take-home naloxone. The primary outcome was acceptance of take-home naloxone, including the kit and standardized patient training. Univariate and multivariable logistic analyses were used to evaluate factors associated with acceptance.
RESULTS:
Of 241 eligible patients approached, 201 (83.4%) completed the questionnaire. Three-quarters of respondents used injection drugs, 37% were women, and 26% identified as “Indigenous.” Of 201 respondents, 137 (68.2%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 61.7% to 74.7%) accepted take-home naloxone. Multivariable analysis revealed that factors associated with take-home naloxone acceptance included witnessing overdose in others (odds ratio [OR] 4.77; 95% CI 2.25 to 10.09), concern about own overdose death (OR 3.71; 95% CI 1.34 to 10.23), female sex (OR 2.50; 95% CI 1.21 to 5.17), and injection drug use (OR 2.22; 95% CI 1.06 to 4.67).
CONCLUSION:
A two-thirds ED take-home naloxone acceptance rate in patients using opioids should encourage all EDs to dispense take-home naloxone. ED-based take-home naloxone programs have the potential to improve access to take-home naloxone and awareness in individuals most vulnerable to overdoses.
Copyright © 2016 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
PMID: 27745764 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]
