FDA APPROVED: OTC Naloxone

In life-saving news, the FDA has approved, for the first time, over the counter use of Narcan, 4 mg naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray. By increasing ease of access by selling directly to consumers whether online or via grocery stores, gas stations, drug stores, or convenience shops, the FDA hopes...

Overdose Detection via Wearable Device

With fatal overdoses at an all time high and opioids responsible for over 70% of them, naloxone is greatly needed. But over half of overdoses happen when the user is alone; 27% occur in front of bystanders who don’t realize what is happening or don’t know what to do. Therefore, news of a wearable...

Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Increases

JAMA reports a noted increase in opioid use disorder treatments in those enrolled in Medicaid. The study looked at over a million enrollees from 11 states: medication treatment prevalence in 2014 was 47.8% and in 2018, 57.1%. Of note, use of OUD medication was higher in pregnant women and white...

Managing Chronic Pain Conditions with Naltrexone

In a study in the Journal of the American Dental Association, naltrexone as a potential treatment for chronic pain and orofacial pain in particular was evaluated. In this first in-depth, systematic review, researchers looked at reduction in pain intensity and increase in quality of life as the...

Safely Prescribing Opioids, and Naloxone

“Even during this global pandemic, we have continued to prioritize addressing the opioid crisis,” says Stephen M. Hahn, MD, the FDA’s Commissioner, referring to the FDA’s new labeling requirement. This labeling—on opioid pain medication and opioid use disorder medication—must include the...

Most in Need Least Likely to Receive?

Newswise — Only a tiny minority of people at risk for an opioid overdose actually are prescribed a drug that could save their lives, a new study suggests. And the odds of having a dose of the rescue drug were very low among some of the most at-risk groups, including those who had already survived a...

Opioid Use Disorder Undertreated with FDA Approved Medications

Newswise — Though research shows that medication-assisted treatment can help people who are addicted to opioids, the three drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are underused, according to a review of current medical data on opioid addiction in the U.S. This review appears in the...

IV Naloxone Infusion: A Hidden Gem

Despite the current opioid crisis, opioids remain the mainstay of analgesic therapy. They are associated with a multitude of side effects, including respiratory depression, pruritus, nausea, vomiting, urinary retention, ileus, and constipation. Beyond certain doses and duration of intake that vary...

Legal Mandates and Naloxone—Benefits of Coprescription Laws

Newswise —  In a new study published in JAMA Network Open, University of Kentucky researchers, in collaboration with researchers from Ferris State University, examined whether legal mandates on naloxone coprescription in certain states increased naloxone dispensing.

Recently, a Federal Drug...

Pennsylvania Has Opioid Overdose Rates Yet Low Implementation

Newswise — A new study from researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago finds that only one-third of pharmacies in Philadelphia carry naloxone nasal spray, a medication used to rapidly counter the effects of opioid overdose, and that many of the pharmacies that do carry the drug require...