Naloxone distribution and cardiopulmonary resuscitation training for injection drug users to prevent heroin overdose death: A pilot intervention study

Fatal heroin overdose has become a leading cause of death among injection drug users (IDUs). Several recent feasibility studies have concluded that naloxone distribution programs for heroin injectors should be implemented to decrease heroin overdose deaths, but there have been no prospective trials of such programs in North America. This pilot study was undertaken to investigate the safety and feasibility of training injection drug using partners to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and administer naloxone in the event of heroin overdose. During May and June 2001, 24 IDUs (12 pairs of injection partners) were recruited from street settings in San Francisco. Participants took part in 8-hour training in heroin overdose prevention, CPR, and the use of naloxone. Following the intervention, participants were prospectively followed for 6 months to determine the number and outcomes of witnessed heroin overdoses, outcomes of participant interventions, and changes in participants’ knowledge of overdose and drug use behavior. Study participants witnessed 20 heroin overdose events during 6 months follow-up. They performed CPR in 16 (80%) events, administered naloxone in 15 (75%) and did one or the other in 19 (95%). All overdose victims survived. Knowledge about heroin overdose management increased, whereas heroin use decreased. IDUs can be trained to respond to heroin overdose emergencies by performing CPR and administering naloxone. Future research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of this peer intervention to prevent fatal heroin overdose.     

Attitudes about prescribing take-home naloxone to injection drug users for the management of heroin overdose: a survey of street-recruited injectors in the San Francisco Bay Area

Naloxone, an injectable opiate antagonist, can immediately reverse an opiate overdose and prevent overdose death. We sought to determine injection drug users’ (IDUs) attitudes about being prescribed take-home naloxone. During November 1999 to February 2000, we surveyed 82 street-recruited IDUs from the San Francisco Bay Area of California who had experienced one or more heroin overdose events. We used a questiomaire that included structured and open-ended questions. Most respondents (89%) had witnessed an overdose, and 90% reported initially attempting lay remedies in an effort to help companions survive. Only 51% reported soliciting emergency assistance (calling 911) for the last witnessed overdose, with most hesitating due to fear of police involvement. Of IDUs surveyed, 87% were strongly in favor of participating in an overdose management training program to receive take-home naloxone and training in resuscitation techniques. Nevertheless, respontdents expressed a variety of concerning attitudes. If provided naloxone, 35% predicted that they might feel comfortable using greater amounts of heroin, 62% might be less inclined to call 911 for an overdose, 30% might leave an overdose victim after naloxone resuscitation, and 46% might not be able to dissuade the victim from using heroin again to alleviate with drawal symptoms induced by naloxone. Prescribing take-home naloxone to IDUs with training in its use and in resuscitation techniques may represent a life-saving, peer-based adjunct to accessing emergency services. Nevertheless, strategies for overcoming potential risks associated with the use of take-home naloxone would need to be emphasized in an overdose management training program.     

Governing street-based injecting drug users: a critique of heroin overdose prevention in Australia

This article provides a critical analysis of existing approaches to the prevention of heroin overdose in Australia. It draws on almost 2 years of ethnographic research with street-based injecting drug users (IDUs), street-based sex workers and service providers in Melbourne, Australia's second largest city, and on recent anthropological and sociological work on governmentality. The substantive sections of the article argue: (1) that heroin overdose prevention in Australia contains implicit or explicit assumptions of rationality and personal autonomy, continues to emphasise individual behaviour change and inscribes a self-disciplined, self-aware, self-regulating subject; and (2) that the social, cultural and economic realities--the 'lived experience'--of street-based IDUs and sex workers may undermine or hinder the successful adoption of overdose prevention strategies. The paper concludes by arguing that the 'chaotic' practices of street-based IDUs and sex workers arise in response to particular 'risk environments', and that individually focused overdose prevention strategies, while an important first step, need to be complemented by measures addressing the macro- and micro-aspects of risk environments.     

Cost-Effectiveness of Take-Home Naloxone for the Prevention of Overdose Fatalities among Heroin Users in the United Kingdom

Background: Heroin overdose is a major cause of premature death. Naloxone is an opioid antagonist that is effective for the reversal of heroin overdose in emergency situations and can be used by nonmedical responders. Objective: Our aim was to assess the cost-effectiveness of distributing naloxone to adults at risk of heroin overdose for use by nonmedical responders compared with no naloxone distribution in a European healthcare setting (United Kingdom). Methods: A Markov model with an integrated decision tree was developed based on an existing model, using UK data where available. We evaluated an intramuscular naloxone distribution reaching 30% of heroin users. Costs and effects were evaluated over a lifetime and discounted at 3.5%. The results were assessed using deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses. Results: The model estimated that distribution of intramuscular naloxone, would decrease overdose deaths by around 6.6%. In a population of 200,000 heroin users this equates to the prevention of 2,500 premature deaths at an incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained of £899. The sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of the results. Conclusions: Our evaluation suggests that the distribution of take-home naloxone decreased overdose deaths by around 6.6% and was cost-effective with an incremental cost per QALY gained well below a £20,000 willingness-to-pay threshold set by UK decision-makers. The model code has been made available to aid future research. Further study is warranted on the impact of different formulations of naloxone on cost-effectiveness and the impact take-home naloxone has on the wider society.     

Establishing safe injecting rooms in Australia: attitudes of injecting drug users

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the attitudes of injecting drug users (IDUs) towards the establishment of safe injecting rooms (SIRs) in Melbourne, Australia. METHODS: Multi-site convenience sampling at Needle and Syringe Exchange Programs (NSEPs) within six Melbourne suburbs. Four hundred current IDUs were recruited directly through NSEP and participant snowballing. Respondents completed either a semi-structured interview, anonymous self-report questionnaire, face-to-face interview or participated in a focus group. Participants were asked to report on their knowledge and attitudes about SIR, their experiences and concerns as participants of street-based illicit drug markets, and their willingness to use SIRs if established. RESULTS: Participants (91%) were knowledgeable about the SIR issue and thought such a strategy had potential to address both personal and wider community harms associated with public injecting. Most (77%) indicated they would be willing to use a SIR if established in Melbourne. Gender, lifetime non-fatal overdose episodes and frequency of heroin use were all significantly related to a person's willingness to use SIRs. A significant number also reported a preference for injecting at their own place of residence due to concerns regarding privacy, safety and police presence within street-based market places. CONCLUSIONS: This study has identified a number of important issues relating to the likely demand and uptake of SIRs that should be addressed when considering the feasibility of establishing SIRs within Australia.     

Patterns of Nonfatal Heroin Overdose Over a 3-Year Period: Findings From the Australian Treatment Outcome Study

To determine annual patterns and correlates of nonfatal heroin overdose across 3 years, data were analyzed on 387 heroin users recruited for the Australian Treatment Outcome Study (ATOS), interviewed at 12, 24, and 36 months. A heroin overdose across follow-up was reported by 18.6%, and naloxone had been administered to 11.9%. Annual rates of overdose declined between baseline and 12 months and then remained stable. Previous overdose experience was strongly related to subsequent overdose. Those with a history of overdose before ATOS were significantly more likely to overdose during the study period. In particular, there was a strong association between overdose experience in any 1 year and increased overdose risk in the subsequent year. This is the first study to examine long-term annual trends in nonfatal heroin overdose. While overdose rates declined after extensive treatment, substantial proportions continued to overdose in each year, and this was strongly associated with overdose history. Darke, Williamson, Ross, Mills, Harvard, and Teesson are with the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.     

云南省部分地区注射吸毒者海洛因过量情况及影响因素分析

目的 了解云南省部分地区注射吸毒者(IDU)海洛因过量情况及其影响因素。方法 采用横断面调查的方法,于2015年7-8月对云南省红河州和德宏州的4个美沙酮维持治疗(MMT)门诊和2个州强制戒毒所的IDU进行问卷调查,内容包括社会人口学特征、毒品使用情况、过去1年海洛因过量情况以及最近1次海洛因过量情况等。对过去1年发生过海洛因过量的相关因素进行logistic回归分析。结果 共340名IDU符合入选标准,男性占85.3%(290/340),年龄为(37.7±8.7)岁,汉族占65.6%(223/340),HIV阳性检出率为49.4%(167/338),过去6个月使用过新型毒品占22.6%(77/340)。自吸毒以来,曾有过海洛因过量的比例为41.8%(142/340),海洛因过量次数M=3次。在过去1年中海洛因过量发生率为15.6%(53/340),M=1次。发生海洛因过量的年龄为(36.7±8.4)岁,吸毒年限为(16.5±7.6)年,男性占83.0%(44/53)。发生海洛因过量的主要原因为增加海洛因用量(26.4%,14/53)和多药滥用(28.3%,15/53)。非条件logistic回归模型分析显示:过去1年参加过MMT(OR=0.534,95%CI:0.290~0.980)可降低海洛因过量的风险,而过去6个月共用针具(OR=2.735,95%CI:1.383~5.407)和刚出戒毒所不满1年(OR=2.881,95%CI:1.226~6.767)会增加海洛因过量的风险。结论 云南省IDU过去1年海洛因过量发生率较高。需要持续促进该地IDU参加MMT并加强预防和应对吸毒过量宣传教育,特别是对戒毒所吸毒人员出所前的宣传教育,同时应建立针对吸毒人员的戒毒所与MMT门诊转介机制。     

Attitudes of emergency medical service providers toward naloxone distribution programs

Training and distributing naloxone to drug users is a promising method for reducing deaths associated with heroin overdose. Emergency Medical Service (EMS) providers have experience responding to overdose, administering naloxone, and performing clinical management of the patient. Little is known about the attitudes of EMS providers toward training drug users to use naloxone. We conducted an anonymous survey of 327 EMS providers to assess their attitudes toward a pilot naloxone program. Of 176 who completed the survey, the majority were male (79%) and Caucasian (75%). The average number of years working as an EMS provider was 7 (SD=6). Overall attitudes toward training drug users to administer naloxone were negative with 56% responding that this training would not be effective in reducing overdose deaths. Differences in attitudes did not vary by gender, level of training, or age. Providers with greater number of years working in EMS were more likely to view naloxone trainings as effective in reducing overdose death. Provider concerns included drug users’ inability to properly administer the drug, program condoning and promoting drug use, and unsafe disposal of used needles. Incorporating information about substance abuse and harm reduction approaches in continuing education classes may improve the attitudes of provider toward naloxone training programs.     

Characteristics of non-fatal opioid overdoses attended by ambulance services in Australia

OBJECTIVE: To examine the feasibility of establishing a database on non-fatal opioid overdose in order to examine patterns and characteristics of these overdoses across Australia. METHODS: Unit record data on opioid overdose attended by ambulances were obtained from ambulance services in the five mainland States of Australia for available periods, along with information on case definition and opioid overdose management within these jurisdictions. Variables common across States were examined including the age and sex of cases attended, the time of day and day of week of the attendance, and the transportation outcome (whether the victim was left at the scene or transported to hospital). RESULTS: The monthly rate of non-fatal opioid overdose attended by ambulance was generally highest in Victoria (Melbourne) followed by NSW, with the rates substantially lower in the remaining States over the period January 1999 to February 2001. Non-fatal opioid overdose victims were most likely to be male in all States, with the proportion of males highest in Victoria (77%), and were aged around 28 years with ages lowest in Western Australia (m=26) and highest in NSW (m=30). Most of the attendances occurred in the afternoon/early evening and towards the later days of the working week in all States. The rates of transportation varied according to ambulance service practice across the States with around 94% of cases transported in Western Australia and around 18% and 29% of cases transported in Melbourne and NSW respectively. CONCLUSIONS: It is feasible to establish a database of comparable data on non-fatal opioid overdoses attended by ambulances in Australia. This compilation represents a useful adjunct to existing surveillance systems on heroin (and other opioid) use and related harms.     

Intentional overdose among heroin overdose survivors

Previous studies have reported varying rates of intentional overdose among heroin overdose survivors. This article reports on the prevalence of intentional heroin overdose among a sample of overdose survivors in Melbourne, Australia. This is part of a larger study examining the risk factors associated with nonfatal overdose. The study involved interviews, with 256 heroin overdose survivors successfully resuscitated by Melbourne Ambulance Service paramedics. A substantial minority (17%) of the sample indicated that they had ever had an intentional overdose, and 67% had one within the last 6 months (11% of the total sample). Of those who had ever intentionally overdosed, 21% did so at the overdose for which they were recruited into the study (4% of total sample). Self-reported reasons for intentional heroin overdose fell into two categories: precipitating events and emotional states prior to use. Intentional overdose appears to comprise a relatively low proportion of overall heroin overdoses. However, given the complexity of suicidal thought and behavior, it is possible that some heroin overdose survivors who report their overdose to be unintentional were in fact experiencing some degree of suicidal thinking at the time of the overdose. Future research could address the potentially ambiguous nature of some intentional heroin overdoses.     

Take-Home Emergency Naloxone to Prevent Heroin Overdose Deaths after Prison Release: Rationale and Practicalities for the N-ALIVE Randomized Trial

The naloxone investigation (N-ALIVE) randomized trial commenced in the UK in May 2012, with the preliminary phase involving 5,600 prisoners on release. The trial is investigating whether heroin overdose deaths post-prison release can be prevented by prior provision of a take-home emergency supply of naloxone. Heroin contributes disproportionately to drug deaths through opiate-induced respiratory depression. Take-home emergency naloxone is a novel preventive measure for which there have been encouraging preliminary reports from community schemes. Overdoses are usually witnessed, and drug users themselves and also family members are a vast intervention workforce who are willing to intervene, but whose responses are currently often inefficient or wrong. Approximately 10% of provided emergency naloxone is thought to be used in subsequent emergency resuscitation but, as yet, there have been no definitive studies. The period following release from prison is a time of extraordinarily high mortality, with heroin overdose deaths increased more than sevenfold in the first fortnight after release. Of prisoners with a previous history of heroin injecting who are released from prison, 1 in 200 will die of a heroin overdose within the first 4 weeks. There are major scientific and logistical challenges to assessing the impact of take-home naloxone. Even in recently released prisoners, heroin overdose death is a relatively rare event: hence, large numbers of prisoners need to enter the trial to assess whether take-home naloxone significantly reduces the overdose death rate. The commencement of pilot phase of the N-ALIVE trial is a significant step forward, with prisoners being randomly assigned either to treatment-as-usual or to treatment-as-usual plus a supply of take-home emergency naloxone. The subsequent full N-ALIVE trial (contingent on a successful pilot) will involve 56,000 prisoners on release, and will give a definitive conclusion on lives saved in real-world application. Advocates call for implementation, while naysayers raise concerns. The issue does not need more public debate; it needs good science.     

Heroin overdose: Research and evidence-based intervention

Drug overdose is a major cause of premature death and morbidity among heroin users. This article examines recent research into heroin overdose to inform interventions that will reduce the rate of overdose death. The demographic characteristics of overdose cases are discussed, including factors associated with overdose: polydrug use, drug purity, drug tolerance, routes of administration, and suicide. Responses by heroin users at overdoses are also examined. Potential interventions to reduce the rate of overdose and overdose-related morbidity are examined in light of the emerging data in this field.     

Low-Frequency Heroin Injection among Out-of-Treatment, Street-Recruited Injection Drug Users

In this paper, we explore the understudied phenomenon of “low-frequency” heroin injection in a sample of street-recruited heroin injectors not in drug treatment. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 2,410 active injection drug users (IDUs) recruited in San Francisco, California from 2000 to 2005. We compare the sociodemographic characteristics and injection risk behaviors of low-frequency heroin injectors (low-FHI; one to 10 self-reported heroin injections in the past 30 days) to high-frequency heroin injectors (high-FHI; 30 or more self-reported heroin injections in the past 30 days). Fifteen percent of the sample met criteria for low-FHI. African American race, men who have sex with men (MSM) behavior, and injection and noninjection methamphetamine use were independently associated with low-FHI. Compared to high-FHI, low-FHI were less likely to report syringe sharing and nonfatal heroin overdose. A small but significant proportion of heroin injectors inject heroin 10 or less times per month. Additional research is needed to qualitatively examine low-frequency heroin injection and its relationship to drug use trajectories.     

Descriptive Epidemiology for Community-wide Naloxone Administration by Police Officers and Firefighters Responding to Opioid Overdose

Recently implemented New York State policy allows police and fire to administer intranasal naloxone when responding to opioid overdoses. This work describes the geographic distribution of naloxone administration (NlxnA) by police and fire when responding to opioid overdoses in Erie County, NY, an area of approximately 920,000 people including the City of Buffalo. Data are from opioid overdose reports (N?=?800) filed with the Erie County Department of Health (July 2014–June 2016) by police/fire and include the overdose ZIP code, reported drug(s) used, and NlxnA. ZIP code data were geocoded and mapped to examine spatial patterns of NlxnA. The highest NlxnA rates (range: 0.01–84.3 per 10,000 population) were concentrated within the city and first-ring suburbs. Within 3 min 27.3% responded to NlxnA and 81.6% survived the overdose. The average individual was male (70.3%) and 31.4 years old (SD?=?10.3). Further work is needed to better understand NlxnA and overdose, including exploring how the neighborhood environment creates a context for drug use, and how this context influences naloxone use and overdose experiences.     

Nonfatal heroin overdoses in Queensland,Australia: an analysis of ambulance data

In the past decade, the utilization of ambulance data to inform the prevalence of nonfatal heroin overdose has increased. These data can assist public health policymakers, law enforcement agencies, and health providers in planning and allocating resources. This study examined the 672 ambulance attendances at nonfatal heroin overdoses in Queensland, Australia, in 2000. Gender distribution showed a typical 70/30 male-to-female ratio. An equal number of persons with nonfatal heroin overdose were between 15 and 24 years of age and 25 and 34 years of age. Police were present in only 1 of 6 cases, and 28.1% of patients reported using drugs alone. Ambulance data are proving to be a valuable population-based resource for describing the incidence and characteristics of nonfatal heroin overdose episodes. Future studies could focus on the differences between nonfatal heroin overdose and fatal heroin overdose samples.