Use of naloxone nasal spray 4 mg in the community setting: a survey of use by community organizations

Abstract

Objective: Naloxone hydrochloride, an opioid antagonist, has been approved as a concentrated 4 mg dose intranasal formulation for the emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose. This new formulation is easier to use and contains a higher dose of naloxone compared with earlier, unapproved kits. A survey of first responders and community-based organizations was conducted to understand initial real-world experiences with this new formulation for opioid overdose reversal.

Methods: In August 2016, 152 US organizations known to have received units of the approved 4 mg dose/unit naloxone nasal spray (Narcan^®1 nasal spray 4 mg; NNS) were surveyed regarding experiences using this formulation and availability of recorded data on these cases. Descriptive statistics were calculated based on the number of responses received for each item.

Results: Eight first-responder or community-based organizations provided case report data on 261 attempted overdose reversals using NNS, with survival reported for 245 cases. Successful overdose reversals were reported in 98.8% (242/245) of cases; most cases (73.5%; 125/170) reported a time to response of ≤5 minutes after NNS administration. Heroin was the substance reportedly involved in a majority (95.4%; 165/173) of these cases; fentanyl was reported to be involved in 5.2% (9/173) of the cases. Many reversals (97.6%; 248/254) involved administration of ≤2 units of NNS. Three deaths were reported (NNS was reported to have been administered too late for two cases [the individuals were deceased prior to NNS administration]; details were not provided for the third case). The most commonly reported observed events were "withdrawal" (14.3%; 28/196); "nausea", "vomiting", or "gagging/retching" (10.2%; 20/196); and "irritability" or "anger" (8.7%; 17/196).

Conclusion: This survey of data provided by first-responder and community-based organizations indicated that NNS was successful at reversing the effects of opioid overdose in most reported cases.

Keywords: Opioid overdose reversal; naloxone formulation; naloxone nasal spray; opioid overdose.